What Causes Shortness Of Breath While Walking?

Posted on Sun, 10 Jul 2016

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

Sun, 10 Jul 2016 Answered on

Sat, 6 Aug 2016 Last reviewed on

Question : I am an 89 year old male with a pacemaker (2nd degree blockage) and, at times asthma. Increasingly I have shortness of breath when I walk up a small incline or hill. I have no problem riding a stationary bile for 20 minutes or walking on flat ground for a mile or two. I take Pilates exercises with a trainer one hour a week. I nap every afternoon for about 1/2-3/4 of an hour. Today, I have had very sudden. sharp. but fleeting, pains in upper left arm- about 5 today. What might be the cause? Heart warning? Thank you. Karl Nygren

Answered by Dr. Ilir Sharka (2 hours later)

Brief Answer:
I would recommend as follows:

Detailed Answer:
Hello!

Welcome and thank you for asking on HCM!

I passed carefully through your question and would explain that it is important excluding coronary artery disease as a possible cause of your symptoms.

Other possible causes that may mimic this clinical scenario would be:

- musculo-skeletal pain
- a cervical backbone disorder causing radicular pain in your arm.

I would recommend going to the ER for a careful physical exam and some tests:

- a resting ECG and cardiac enzymes
- a chest X ray study
- some other blood lab tests (complete blood count, PCR, sedimentation rate, kidney and liver function tests, blood electrolytes).

Further tests may be needed to investigate for the possible cause:

- a cardiac ultrasound to examine your cardiac structure and function
- a cardiac stress tests to investigate for coronary artery disease
- a cervical spine X ray study to rule out possible backbone disorder

You should discuss with your doctor on the above tests.

Hope to have been helpful!

Kind regards,

Dr. Iliri

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