dyspnea is difficulty breathing. dyspnea can have a wide range of causes including: being out of shape (deconditioning) problems in the lungs (infections emphysema asthma) problems with the heart (congestive heart failure pulmonary embolism) anemia (a low red blood cell count) problems with the chest wall or breathing muscles (muscular dystrophy). everyone has dyspnea with exercise—even olympic athletes breathe faster after running up a flight of stairs. with increasing regular exercise it takes higher levels of exertion to bring on dyspnea. shortness of breath that occurs with a level of activity that used to be easy or dyspnea that’s getting worse might be due to a medical condition. generally speaking worsening or unexplained dyspnea should prompt a call to your doctor. dyspnea is
what is dyspnea?