What is Dyspnea?
Dyspnea is a breathing disorder which is characterized by difficult, labored breathing which makes the patient feel as though he or she is suffocating or fighting for air. It is sometimes called “air hunger,” in a reference to the fact that patients feel starved for breath, and it is caused by a wide variety of medical problems. Difficulty breathing is a serious medical symptom, and it requires medical attention to resolve the issue which is causing the breathing difficulty. Someone with dyspnea may experience this condition in a variety of ways. Some patients find it hard to draw in breath, while others have trouble exhaling. It may be hard to move air through the lungs, or it may be possible to inhale and exhale normally, but the patient may feel starved for air because the capacity for gas diffusion in the lungs has been diminished. A vise-like sensation in the chest may be experienced, along with a sense of pressure which makes it hard to breathe. Along with symptoms which are expe
