What Can Cause it to be Hard to Breathe?

This is the second part of a two post series. (Post 1, How Do Your Lungs Work?)

Lung Sounds

What can your breath sounds tell your healthcare team about the state of your respiratory system? Lung sounds play a large role in determining if and where a problem with the respiratory track has occurred. Different sounds can indicate a narrowing airway or an accumulation of fluid in your lungs. Another common tool your healthcare team uses to see any problems with your respiratory track is a chest x-ray.

Pneumonia

One cause of fluid to build up in the lungs is pneumonia. Pneumonia is an infection (there are multiple different types depending on the cause) that causes the air sacs (alveoli) in your lungs to become inflamed. When this happens fluid or pus accumulates in the air sacs. Not only can this make it difficult to take in a full breath, but it is difficult for the capillaries to exchange oxygen and carbon dioxide between your red blood cells and alveoli. This can become very serious and should be monitored by your healthcare team.

Asthma

Asthma is one of the most common respiratory conditions. An “asthma attack” effects the airways of your respiratory system. Your muscles around your airway tighten, your airway itself swells and more mucous is produced. All of these work together to narrow your airways and decrease the amount of air that you are able to move in and out of your lungs.

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disorder

Ever heard the term COPD? It stands for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. This often comes hand in hand with the term Emphysema and Chronic Bronchitis. Emphysema causes the alvioli to be destroyed. Chronic Bronchitis causes the lining in a person’s airway to be continually inflamed. This is different from short term bronchitis (inflammation of your bronchial tubes in your airway) that is caused by an infection and often goes away on its own. In COPD the long term conditions work together to cause more and more difficulty for the person to breathe over time.

Heimlich Maneuver

An important part of basic life support training is teaching the Heimlich maneuver. This training is so valuable as a person who is choking from a completely blocked airway can quickly lose consciousness. This is because their body is no longer receiving fresh oxygen. By receiving this training you can act quickly when someone is choking and prevent them from needing CPR. It has been estimated that up to 86% of people choking can be helped by the Heimlich maneuver according to the National Institute of Health. Visit the AHA to find a training near you!