Important: This page is general information, not medical advice. It does not recommend or prescribe any treatment. Always consult your doctor or pharmacist before starting, stopping or changing any medicine.
About Breathing Problems
When you're short of breath, it's hard or uncomfortable for you to take in the oxygen your body needs. You may feel as if you're not getting enough air. Sometimes you can have mild breathing problems because of a stuffy nose or intense exercise. But shortness of breath can also be a sign of a serious disease.
Many conditions can make you feel short of breath:
- Lung conditions such as asthma, emphysema, or pneumonia
- Problems with your trachea or bronchi, which are part of your airway system
- Heart disease can make you feel breathless if your heart cannot pump enough blood to supply oxygen to your body
- Anxiety and panic attacks
- Allergies
If you often have trouble breathing, it is important to find out the cause.
It sits within Lungs and Breathing and Symptoms.
The lead U.S. institute for this subject is the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.
When to speak to someone. Reading about a topic cannot tell you whether it applies to you. Speak to a doctor or pharmacist if symptoms are severe, sudden, getting worse, or simply not going away — and seek emergency care immediately for chest pain, breathing difficulty, sudden weakness or confusion, or a serious allergic reaction.
Research on Breathing Problems
90 studies areregistered for this condition on ClinicalTrials.gov, the U.S. National Library of Medicine's public registry. A selection is below — the links go straight to the registry entry, not to a summary of ours.
What a registered study does and does not mean. Registration means a study exists and has been declared publicly. It says nothing about whether the treatment being tested works, is safe, or is available to you. Many studies find no benefit — that is what research is for. Never seek out an experimental treatment on the strength of a registry entry alone.
Research currently under way
- Assessing the Validity of the PAP Problems Triage Tool in Patients With PAP Treatment for Obstructive Sleep ApneaKaiser Permanente
- The Meaning of Dopaminergic Pathway in Sleep Breathing Disorders.Wroclaw Medical University
- Music Breathing in Enhancing Resilience Among Elders at Risk of Mental Health ProblemsChinese University of Hong Kong
- Effect of Different Breathing Techniques on Dyspnea and Cardiopulmonary Parameters Among Patients After Open Heart SurgeryUniversity of Baghdad
- IOA Preventing Occlusal Changes With MAD UseIsabel Moreno Hay
- Effect of Coughing Exercises Versus Incentive Spirometry on Respiratory Function and Recovery in Children After Cardiac Surgery.University of Baghdad
Research already completed
- Wearable Technology in the Detection and Evaluation of Sleep-Related Breathing DisordersUniversidade da Coruña
- Restricted Fluid Therapy for Newborn Breathing ProblemsHitit University
- Evaluation of Ergonomic Risks and the Effect of Patient Education on Musculoskeletal Complaints, Posture and Breathing Awareness in Bank EmployeesUskudar University
- An Observational Study to Identify New Health Problems Arising After an Intensive Care Unit Admission in People With Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome in the United StatesBayer
- The Effect of the Fishbowl Method on Nursing StudentsZeynep Yılmaz
- Impact of Sleep Related Breathing Disorders on Outcomes of Acute Pulmonary EmbolismAlexandria University
Study data from ClinicalTrials.gov, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine. Retrieved 2026-07-30. Registry entries are supplied by study sponsors and investigators; ClinicalTrials.gov does not verify their scientific validity. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH.
Where to read more
Rather than paraphrase, we point you to the primary sources. Every link below is to a government health agency, a national institute or a recognised medical body — grouped by what you are trying to find out.
Start Here
- Breathlessness -- Shortness of BreathAmerican Thoracic Society
- How Your Body Controls BreathingNational Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
- Shortness of BreathAmerican Heart Association
- Shortness of BreathMayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research
- Shortness Of Breath (Dyspnea)American Academy of Family Physicians
Symptoms
- What Are Retractions?Nemours Foundation
Diagnosis and Tests
- Arterial Blood Gas (ABG) TestNational Library of Medicine
- Bronchoscopy and Bronchoalveolar Lavage (BAL)National Library of Medicine
- Lung Function TestsNational Library of Medicine
- Respiratory Pathogens PanelNational Library of Medicine
- Shortness of BreathAmerican Academy of Family Physicians
- SpirometryAmerican Lung Association
- SpirometryMayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research
- Sputum CultureNational Library of Medicine
- Tests for Lung DiseaseNational Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
- V/Q ScanNational Library of Medicine
Living With
- Minimizing Shortness of BreathNational Jewish Health
- Pulmonary Rehabilitation: MedlinePlus Health TopicNational Library of Medicine
- Shortness of Breath and EatingNational Jewish Health
Related Issues
- Dyspnea during Advanced CancerNational Cancer Institute
- Humidifiers: Ease Skin, Breathing SymptomsMayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research
- Respirator Types and UseCenters for Disease Control and Prevention
- Thoracic Insufficiency SyndromeScoliosis Research Society
Clinical Trials
- ClinicalTrials.gov: DyspneaNational Institutes of Health
Medical subject headings
Clinicians and researchers index this subject under Tachypnea, Dyspnea. These are the terms to use when searching medical literature.
This page is built from the MedlinePlus health topic record for Breathing Problems, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM), National Institutes of Health. Information is from MedlinePlus.gov. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and is not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH. Retrieved 30 July 2026.