What Could Cause Extreme Shortness Of Breath Upon The Slightest Exertion, Fatigue And Tachycardia?

Question : Hi. I think you are the specialist to answer my question, even though I am sedentary and far from being athletic. I don't do much exercise unless you count walking my dog for 10 minutes a day. My job requires sitting. Although last Autumn, before it became cold, I did do a lot of biking (not competitively but definitely cardio) and hiking and I did not have any problems with shortness of breath or anything. Before that, I was relatively sedentary for about 6 years, with some occasional hiking but not much - still without shortness of breath. Seven weeks ago, I had a slight injury and it limited my activity for about 3 weeks. I wasn't bedridden or anything like that, but I didn't walk the dog as much and spent more time watching TV. I did some household chores, but certainly not as much (or as strenuously) as normal. I did have more inactivity than usual for sure but even though my activity was limited, I was still moving around. Then, 4 weeks ago, I began experiencing pretty extreme shortness of breath on exertion and tachycardia. For instance, I can't take a shower without sitting down at least twice and my heart rate is 170 or so - almost the estimated maximum for my age. My heart rate increases to 145 or so (with shortness of breath) just by brushing my teeth or dressing. Sometimes, I am short of breath just by getting out of bed and walking into the other room. (With a heart rate of 130 or so) The shortness of breath and tachycardia are directly proportional to the level of exertion - the more energy it requires, the more short of breath I get. I do recover quickly once the activity stops and I sit. My resting heart rate is usually 80 or so. I am also very fatigued most of the time after I have any significant exertion (for instance, I went to the store today, walked around for about 30 minutes, tried on some clothes and got so very short of breath. When I got home, I was extremely tired and had to lie down.) I have had most cardiac reasons ruled out - by ekg, 24 hour holter monitor, stress echo, and labs. All were normal. So, my question to you is this - do you think I could be having such pronounced symptoms because of deconditioning, even though I was only less active for 3 weeks (and certainly not on bedrest or anything). Also taking into account that it wasn't a highly dramatic change from my usual activity. I am a registered nurse and the people I see having the level of shortness of breath and tachycardia as pronounced as mine are extremely overweight and don't move around at all - or have heart or lung disease. I am 5' 7" and weigh 128 lbs, with no other health problems. I've also never smoked. I see my cardiologist for a follow up on Friday but I wanted to know if you thought that deconditioning could be the cause of my symptoms. I'm not sure how quickly and dramatically that happens for a non-athlete. Thank you for your input!

---------------------------------------------------------------


Hi, thank you. I am wondering specifically, would it be possible to get that deconditioned and out of shape (enough to have the problems I'mhaving) in the amount of time that I had to be less active (3weeks), taking into considetation my previous level of conditioning (sedentary but without shortness of breath). Thank you again, Dr. XXXXXXX


----------------------------------------------------------------

Hi! I just saw you asked me to clarify what I mean by deconditoning. The term, as I am using, it refers to being very out of shape following a period of inactivity. It is often used in reference to athletes who are unable to perform as well in their sport after being inactive (usually due to an injury). It is also used to describe the decreases in ability (even with minimal exertion) of non-athletes who are immobile for a long period of time after surgery or those who become inactive due to obesity - things like that. I know that an athlete can lose their ability to function at their previous level after only a short time of inactivity. However, this is relative, because, for an athlete, that could mean a few seconds off of their time in a track event. What I am wondering is if a non-athlete, such as myself, who is normally pretty sedentary anyway, could become so out of shape as to experience the level of my symptoms simply due to 3 weeks of being more inactive (although not completely inactive) due to injury. Thank you so much - and I appreciate you asking for clarification.