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What Causes Breathlessness When Diagnosed With Anxiety?
Posted on
Thu, 28 Jan 2016
Medically reviewed by
Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team
Thu, 28 Jan 2016
Answered on
Wed, 16 Mar 2016
Last reviewed on
Question : Several years ago i was given a clinical diagnosis that my chest discomfort was imaginary. A few weeks following that i ended up in the hospital with an EKG, a stress test ,and an angiogram that showed collateral circulation. This is part of the reason i question psychosomatic answersvuntil i can be confidant of it
In dealing with my mother, I read a lot of info on COPD. What to expect, what not to be certain of . Sometimes too much knowledge can be harmful. I do know that the symptoms list for bronchitis I don't have. Since I was once told I had a very mild obstruction, that left me to consider asthma or emphysema. trying to convince myself I have neither is difficult because they can take time to surface and lately I have found symptoms of breathlessness that I am trying to believe are either in my mind or are the result of prolonged anxiousness and will disappear when anxiety subsides.
I know that anxiety has many different reactive actions or symptoms when in the fight or flight mode. Can the result of this extended or prolonged state amplify the feeling of tightness on chest that will go away but for the time being you will get the sensation of breathlessness. Just 7 years ago I would ride bike for 75 miles per week with minor breathlessness. Now if I tried it I do not feel I could get a mile without huffing and puffing. Is that from my fright of getting or having copd
Better yet I would love two lists of what is
What are symptoms of anxiety that cause breathlessness
And
A list of symptoms or known conditions that specify a obstructive lung disorder
In dealing with my mother, I read a lot of info on COPD. What to expect, what not to be certain of . Sometimes too much knowledge can be harmful. I do know that the symptoms list for bronchitis I don't have. Since I was once told I had a very mild obstruction, that left me to consider asthma or emphysema. trying to convince myself I have neither is difficult because they can take time to surface and lately I have found symptoms of breathlessness that I am trying to believe are either in my mind or are the result of prolonged anxiousness and will disappear when anxiety subsides.
I know that anxiety has many different reactive actions or symptoms when in the fight or flight mode. Can the result of this extended or prolonged state amplify the feeling of tightness on chest that will go away but for the time being you will get the sensation of breathlessness. Just 7 years ago I would ride bike for 75 miles per week with minor breathlessness. Now if I tried it I do not feel I could get a mile without huffing and puffing. Is that from my fright of getting or having copd
Better yet I would love two lists of what is
What are symptoms of anxiety that cause breathlessness
And
A list of symptoms or known conditions that specify a obstructive lung disorder
Brief Answer:
Private Consultation
Detailed Answer:
Hello XXXXXXX have thoroughly reviewed health query you raised, and well realize all of those concerns Let's get right back to it.
You are right to be inquisitive about your symptoms, and to demand evidence of a diagnosis until you are reasonably confident.
Your witnessing of your mother's suffering and death is to me clearly the root of the problem here. Your fear of experiencing something similar is manifesting as similar symptoms.
You ask of anxiety, "Can the result of this extended or prolonged state amplify the feeling of tightness on chest that will go away but for the time being you will get the sensation of breathlessness?" The answer here is yes.
You again ask if COPD could be the cause of breathlessness compared to 7 years ago when you were more active. XXXXXXX let me again emphasize:
You do not have COPD or any obstructive pulmonary disease.
Nor do you have restrictive pulmonary disease.
How do I know this? Because you have been very careful, diligent, and inquisitive, and we have serial PFTs showing normal values. And for many other clinical reasons IO will discuss in more detail below.
I have seen and treated a lot of COPD in my training. These people have dramatic changes in their PFTs, require ongoing inhaler treatment, and many require supplemental oxygen. This is not at all the case for you.
Seven years is a long time. People go from running marathons to being deconditioned in less than a year if they stop exercising. This breathlessness is related to deconditioning, not lung disease.
You ask for a comparative list of COPD vs anxiety symptoms. Let me outline a few major differences.
COPD results in a number of objective changes that anxiety does not. COPD causes a decrease in oxygen saturation, changes in the appearance of the chest on a chest X-ray and EKG, changes in complexion in the face (pink for emphysema, blue for bronchitis), constant wheezing, inability to function without inhalers, and often the need for supplemental oxygen. You do not exhibit any of these things.
A feeling of breathlessness is a symptom common in both COPD and anxiety. However, anxiety is more often than not situational, whereas COPD is constant over several months to years. And anxiety has a clear history of stress or trauma -- and this is your story exactly, with regards to your mother. COPD does not have a history like this as it is organic. Finally, people with COPD rarely focus with concern about small differences in their bodies ("somatization") -- this is also a symptom of anxiety. Your story is a classic story of anxiety, and not at all a clinical picture of COPD.
Does this make sense? What questions do you have about my explanation? Let me know if you have further questions. I will be more than happy to clear any doubts.
Dr. Sheppe
Private Consultation
Detailed Answer:
Hello XXXXXXX have thoroughly reviewed health query you raised, and well realize all of those concerns Let's get right back to it.
You are right to be inquisitive about your symptoms, and to demand evidence of a diagnosis until you are reasonably confident.
Your witnessing of your mother's suffering and death is to me clearly the root of the problem here. Your fear of experiencing something similar is manifesting as similar symptoms.
You ask of anxiety, "Can the result of this extended or prolonged state amplify the feeling of tightness on chest that will go away but for the time being you will get the sensation of breathlessness?" The answer here is yes.
You again ask if COPD could be the cause of breathlessness compared to 7 years ago when you were more active. XXXXXXX let me again emphasize:
You do not have COPD or any obstructive pulmonary disease.
Nor do you have restrictive pulmonary disease.
How do I know this? Because you have been very careful, diligent, and inquisitive, and we have serial PFTs showing normal values. And for many other clinical reasons IO will discuss in more detail below.
I have seen and treated a lot of COPD in my training. These people have dramatic changes in their PFTs, require ongoing inhaler treatment, and many require supplemental oxygen. This is not at all the case for you.
Seven years is a long time. People go from running marathons to being deconditioned in less than a year if they stop exercising. This breathlessness is related to deconditioning, not lung disease.
You ask for a comparative list of COPD vs anxiety symptoms. Let me outline a few major differences.
COPD results in a number of objective changes that anxiety does not. COPD causes a decrease in oxygen saturation, changes in the appearance of the chest on a chest X-ray and EKG, changes in complexion in the face (pink for emphysema, blue for bronchitis), constant wheezing, inability to function without inhalers, and often the need for supplemental oxygen. You do not exhibit any of these things.
A feeling of breathlessness is a symptom common in both COPD and anxiety. However, anxiety is more often than not situational, whereas COPD is constant over several months to years. And anxiety has a clear history of stress or trauma -- and this is your story exactly, with regards to your mother. COPD does not have a history like this as it is organic. Finally, people with COPD rarely focus with concern about small differences in their bodies ("somatization") -- this is also a symptom of anxiety. Your story is a classic story of anxiety, and not at all a clinical picture of COPD.
Does this make sense? What questions do you have about my explanation? Let me know if you have further questions. I will be more than happy to clear any doubts.
Dr. Sheppe
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Naveen Kumar
Wow!!, thanks for this follow up!!, not to say any of our previous conversations were not beneficial,(they were). But this one hits and explains just how I wanted. Before I was able to read this through, I came upon a question to ask and in some strange way you answered it.
I was thinking that I needed a bit of scolding or firm handedness to shake some sense into me and realize that there is other factors at work here and look at them and stop them (worrying). The thought/question was once again upon climbing the stairs at work and being out of breath and unable to talk for a few moments. What I wondered was, If I am out of Breath, what caused it if I exclude COPD, Age (we have decreased lung functions as we age, but we do not have a death sentence as if we had COPD), is it being out of shape?, is it symptoms of Anxiety and Panic. I thought it could be combination of 1, 2, or all three, but none have a death sentence to them. Again you partially answered it with the lack of fitness over 7 years.
Ok, again this was the most helpful message todate. What Do you want to tap next to keep this positive flow going. I dont want to fall backward.
I was thinking that I needed a bit of scolding or firm handedness to shake some sense into me and realize that there is other factors at work here and look at them and stop them (worrying). The thought/question was once again upon climbing the stairs at work and being out of breath and unable to talk for a few moments. What I wondered was, If I am out of Breath, what caused it if I exclude COPD, Age (we have decreased lung functions as we age, but we do not have a death sentence as if we had COPD), is it being out of shape?, is it symptoms of Anxiety and Panic. I thought it could be combination of 1, 2, or all three, but none have a death sentence to them. Again you partially answered it with the lack of fitness over 7 years.
Ok, again this was the most helpful message todate. What Do you want to tap next to keep this positive flow going. I dont want to fall backward.
Brief Answer:
Private Followup
Detailed Answer:
I'm glad this was helpful to you!
I've done a lot of questioning and talking. I want to open the floor up to you. What do you think would be most helpful at this point? Some possibilities include talking more about your mother, talking about your current life/relationships/stressors, talking about a recent panic episode and how you dealt with it, talking about medications. Anything that you would like. I leave it up to you.
Dr. Sheppe
Private Followup
Detailed Answer:
I'm glad this was helpful to you!
I've done a lot of questioning and talking. I want to open the floor up to you. What do you think would be most helpful at this point? Some possibilities include talking more about your mother, talking about your current life/relationships/stressors, talking about a recent panic episode and how you dealt with it, talking about medications. Anything that you would like. I leave it up to you.
Dr. Sheppe
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Vaishalee Punj
Answered by
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