What Causes Shortness Of Breath Upon Exertion?

Posted on Wed, 30 Nov 2016

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Wed, 30 Nov 2016 Answered on

Wed, 21 Dec 2016 Last reviewed on

Question : The past month I have become very short winded with little exertion. Legs are weaker than before.

Answered by Dr. Ilir Sharka (10 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
I would recommend as follows:

Detailed Answer:
Hello!

Thank you for asking on HMC!

Regarding your concern, I would explain that it is important performing a comprehensive differential diagnosis between different causes that may lead to your symptoms:

- chronic anemia
- heart failure
- vitamin D deficiency
- vitamin B12 deficiency
- thyroid dysfunction
- an electrolyte imbalance
- liver or kidney dysfunction.

For this reason, I would recommend consulting with your attending physician and performing some tests to investigate for possible underlying causes:

- a chest X ray study
- a resting ECG and cardiac ultrasound
- complete blood count
- fasting glucose
- thyroid hormone levels
- blood electrolytes
- kidney and liver function tests
- vitamin D and vitamin B12 levels.
You should discuss with your doctor on the above issues!

Hope to have been helpful!

Kind regards,

Dr. Iliri

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar