Adults take, on average, 15-17 breathing movements per minute. Most of us don't think about how we inhale and exhale. But there are people who often feel short of breath. Why do asthma attacks occur?

How do asthma attacks manifest?

Violation of the frequency and depth of breathing, which is accompanied by a feeling of lack of air, is called dyspnea. Although this condition is better known as shortness of breath. If attempts to get enough air into the lungs do not bring satisfaction, an attack of suffocation begins. This condition threatens human life.

Some people experience shortness of breath even with very mild physical activity, others are bothered mainly at night. A person may have difficulty only inhaling or exhaling. For some unfortunate people, dyspnea does not allow them to lie down - in a horizontal position they begin to have attacks of suffocation. All this can be accompanied general weakness, cough, nausea, chest pain, rapid heartbeat. The manifestations and consequences of asthma attacks depend on the cause of the lack of air.

Lack of air due to respiratory diseases

One of the common reasons for lack of air is the presence of any respiratory diseases in a person.

Normally, when we inhale, oxygen enters our body, and when we exhale, carbon dioxide is removed. But if a person has a lesion or respiratory infections, such as bronchitis, pneumonia, bronchiectasis, That breathing movements encounter obstacles. As a result, oxygen entering the lungs cannot enter the blood in sufficient quantities. Attacks of suffocation occur.

With bronchial asthma, the lumen of the small bronchi and bronchioles narrows, and with chronic emphysema, the elasticity of the lung tissue is lost. Therefore, with these respiratory diseases, it is difficult for a person to exhale.

We are looking for the causes of lack of air in the heart

Lack of air is often caused by diseases that lead to heart failure. In case of heart disease (angina pectoris, coronary heart disease, previous heart attack), dyspnea appears even at rest and in the supine position. In patients with cardiac asthma sudden attacks Choking occurs more often at night. At the same time, it is difficult for a person to take a breath.

Shortness of breath due to obesity

For obesity adipose tissue accumulate not only on visible parts of the body, but also on internal organs. Due to this additional load, the lungs cannot provide normal breathing movements, and the heart becomes unable to contract effectively.

"Under Load" overweight the supply of oxygen to the tissues decreases and dyspnea develops.

Lack of air due to stress hormones

Shortness of breath is often caused by severe stress or panic attack. The fact is that strong emotional arousal is accompanied by the release of the hormone adrenaline into the blood. It accelerates the body's metabolism, while increasing oxygen consumption by tissues. Therefore in stressful situations or during panic attacks, a person may feel short of breath.

Which are accompanied by a lack of inspiration, occur in people with hysterical syndrome.

Other causes of shortness of breath

A feeling of lack of air may be a sign of anemia, which develops with iron deficiency. Iron is a component of the hemoglobin molecule. It is responsible for transporting oxygen from the lungs to the cells of the body.

The inability to perform normal breathing movements occurs in people with chest injuries, such as rib fractures. In these cases, attempts to inhale cause sharp pain.

Shortness of breath may be a symptom of illness thyroid gland. Nodular thickenings in the neck sometimes lead to partial occlusion of the airways.

Reader Questions

the tongue is swollen and elongated. It blocks the throat 18 October 2013, 17:25 The tongue is swollen and elongated. It blocks the throat. When tilted, it falls out onto the tongue. What is it? and how to cure it? Thank you.

U healthy people sensations of lack of air occur with increased physical activity. This happens because the heart actively pumps blood, and the muscles require a lot of energy and oxygen. As a result, breathing becomes more frequent, which makes it possible to replenish the oxygen deficiency. But often attacks of suffocation occur with relatively small physical activity, and the person does not have the above diseases. This means that his physical condition is very bad, and it’s time to take care of it.

When a person breathes easily, he probably doesn't notice this process. And that counts normal occurrence, since breathing is a reflex act controlled by the autonomic nervous system. Nature came up with this on purpose, since a person in this state is able to breathe even while in an unconscious state.

Sometimes this opportunity saves people's lives when their health is threatened. However, if there is not enough air when breathing or even the slightest problem occurs with the respiratory function, the person will notice it immediately.

Sometimes constant yawning and lack of air occur in people due to physiological reasons, which are quite easy for him to eliminate. However, if the patient often wants to yawn and take deep breaths of air, this indicates the course of a serious illness.

It is worth noting that the feeling of lack of oxygen in the lungs can manifest itself in different ways - for some it appears heavy breathing, while others begin to yawn constantly, thereby inhaling full lungs.

If the patient does not carry out quick treatment, he may develop shortness of breath, which will be observed even with minimal stress on the body. In this case, it will be difficult for a person to breathe and take a full, deep breath. This requires an immediate visit to the doctor, as otherwise there is a risk of getting oxygen starvation.

The patient will need urgent help doctor if he notices following symptoms accompanying breathing difficulties:

• constant yawning;
• inability to fully breathe air into the lungs;
• pain in and behind the sternum;
• swelling in the limbs and convulsions that attack the patient at night;
• change in skin color to bluish, which indicates a lack of oxygen;
• it is difficult and difficult for the patient to breathe after carrying out minimal stress on the body;
• nausea, which may be accompanied by dizziness;
• long and frequent cough;
• increase in temperature;
• the patient has a feeling of fear, which is why he often has to take sedatives (some prefer to drink alcohol to calm down).

As a rule, such symptoms indicate the course of severe pathologies, which need to be identified and cured in a short time.

Reasons

Doctors divide all the reasons that cause breathing problems in a person into 3 large groups. However, each of them can be closely intertwined with the other, since all processes occurring in the body are interconnected.

Physiological

This type of cause of deterioration in breathing is considered the most harmless. They can cause deterioration in breathing due to the following factors:

1. Insufficient oxygen. If a person is in a place where there is little air, for example, in the mountains, this can cause breathing difficulties due to the fact that the person will not have enough oxygen. Therefore, if you are in an area that is much higher than sea level, this phenomenon will most likely overtake you.
2. Stuffiness in the room. Due to this reason there may be either a lack fresh air due to crowds of people, or excessive levels of carbon dioxide. Therefore, a small room needs to be ventilated frequently.
3. Tight or uncomfortable clothing. Many people don't even think about the fact that tight clothes can harm health, so they sacrifice it for the sake of fashion and beauty. As a result, the woman or man experiences a significant lack of oxygen, which impairs normal functioning body. There is no need to see a doctor, since after changing clothes, the patient will again feel a normal flow of oxygen and will be able to breathe enough.
4. The person is in poor physical shape. If people are sedentary and like to drink alcohol, this negatively affects respiratory function. Any tension in the body causes serious breathing difficulties, as a result of which the patient is often tormented by yawning. Often this reason insufficient quantity air is observed in people who for a long time lay in bed undergoing treatment.
5. Excess body weight. If a child or adult is overweight, they will also have difficulty breathing. However, this is not the worst thing - when overweight heart disease and VSD often develop, the severity of which depends on the amount extra pounds compared to normal indicator weight.

Sometimes people find it difficult to breathe in the heat, especially if the body is severely dehydrated. In this case, the blood becomes thicker, making it more difficult for the heart to push it through the vessels. This causes serious deterioration in breathing, which can be cured on your own.

Medical

Yawning, shortness of breath and lack of air appear due to the course of serious illnesses. Moreover, these symptoms allow a person to identify the disease by initial stage development.

Often symptoms of lack of air attack a person during the development of the following diseases:

1. VSD. This disease develops as a result of severe nervous exhaustion. A person often feels fear, panic attack, etc. unpleasant symptoms. To notice development in time dangerous disease, you need to pay attention to its first signs, including constant yawning and heaviness when inhaling.
2. Anemia. This disease is characterized by a lack of iron in the body, with the help of which oxygen is transported through organs and systems. The disease can be detected by deteriorating breathing quality.
3. Diseases of the lungs or bronchi. Pneumonia, bronchitis, cystic fibrosis, pleurisy, asthma, and so on can cause a feeling of lack of air. In some cases, the patient may also be bothered by belching, for example, during sputum separation.
4. Respiratory diseases occurring in acute or chronic form. As a result of the drying out of the mucous membrane of the nose and larynx, many people are unable to breathe normally. In addition, some people notice increased breathing, which allows a small amount of oxygen to enter the lungs.
5. Heart diseases. These include ischemia, cardiac asthma, heart failure, and so on. Improper functioning of the heart causes breathing difficulties. If this is accompanied by discomfort and chest pain, you should definitely consult a doctor.

These diseases pose a significant threat to the patient’s health, so they should not be neglected.

Psychogenic

Don't forget about stress, often causing development diseases dangerous to health.

Yawning during stress (for example, neuralgia) in a patient is considered unconditioned reflex, which is inherent in man by nature. Therefore, if people are often nervous, this will cause yawning, and, as a rule, a lack of oxygen.

During stress, capillaries spasm, which causes the heart to work excessively. This causes an increase in pressure. In order not to harm the brain, a person begins to yawn frequently, while inhaling deeply.

Also, lack of air occurs when muscle spasms, which makes it difficult for the patient to make a deep entrance.

What to do in case of lack of oxygen

What to do if a person’s breathing suddenly stops or worsens? Judging by the reviews of doctors, the first thing you need to do is calm down and stop panicking. First, the patient needs to go outside or open a window to provide fresh air.

You should also loosen clothing as much as possible, which interferes with the normal penetration of air into the lungs. To prevent dizziness from lack of oxygen, it is recommended to sit or lie down.

You also need to breathe correctly - inhale quickly through your nose and slowly through your mouth. After 3-5 such entries, the patient’s condition usually improves. If this does not happen, you need to urgently call a doctor.

Attention! It is prohibited to take pills on your own without a doctor’s indication, since they are allowed to be taken only after assessing your health condition and identifying the type of disease.

Almost every person is familiar with the feeling of lack of air or shortness of breath. It usually occurs when running or during a long climb up the stairs, and this is not surprising. However, in some cases, shortness of breath may appear out of nowhere - or even at rest. The reasons for this condition may be different - problems with, low content oxygen in the blood, bronchial asthma and other diseases. Depending on the causes of shortness of breath, the ways to get rid of it vary.

Poor physical shape

When playing sports, the body needs more oxygen than usual in order to provide them with all the working muscles. This kind of shortness of breath is not dangerous, but if you are in bad physical fitness, you may feel short of breath even when doing simple things - running a few meters to the bus, playing with, going up to your floor. To ensure you have enough oxygen, start exercising regularly. Any type of physical activity that gets you breathing faster is good for you. If you don't have time to go to the gym, train on your own. You can climb two or three floors of stairs every day and walk briskly.

Panic attack

Anger, severe anxiety, fear of adrenaline production. This causes changes in the body - it increases the heart rate, prepares the muscles for an immediate reaction, believing that you will have to run away or fight with an opponent. This requires large number oxygen. Shortness of breath in this situation is not dangerous to health, but can be unpleasant for the person himself. The best way out in this situation is to simply calm down and lie down for a few minutes. If such attacks occur frequently, you should contact a psychologist who can help you cope with panic attacks.

Anemia

Shortness of breath due to anemia is quite common. If there is not enough iron in your blood to carry oxygen, you will need to breathe more and more often to meet the needs of all tissues and organs. Take a blood test and, if your suspicion is confirmed, start taking medications containing iron, and also more often eat foods that contain this element - liver, red meat, pomegranates, buckwheat, apples.

Pulmonary and heart diseases

Lack of air caused by respiratory diseases, ischemic, heart failure or cardiac asthma requires specialist intervention. Contact medical institution, where you can be diagnosed and treated. Such conditions can threaten the patient’s life, so you should pay close attention to your health.

VSD is vegetative-vascular dystonia, a disease that has not been studied in detail and is not found in international classification diseases, but which occurs and is diagnosed in many patients.

When diagnosed, it is sometimes referred to as an ailment already existing in the ICD - SVD (somatophoric). This is partly correct, however, somatophoric autonomic disorders can be very different, and vegetative-vascular dystonia implies precisely somatophoric autonomic disorders at work cardiovascular system.

Somatophoric autonomic disorders are disorders of the body's autonomic functions against the background of the patient's psychological reactions. Vegetative functions– body functions that support our life: heartbeat, breathing, sweating, and a huge number of others. That is, these are those actions of the body for which a person does not need to think.

Control over these functions is exercised by a person, consisting of certain parts of the brain, spinal cord, an extensive network of millions of nerve fibers with their endings throughout the body, responsible for the constant transmission of signals from the command center to parts of the body and back.

With somatophoric autonomic dysfunctions of the cardiovascular system, that is, with vegetative-vascular dystonia, the automatic processes of the entire cardiovascular system or its specific department, consisting of the heart, all kinds of vessels and valves, are disrupted.

Malfunctions occur due to improper regulation of its work by the autonomic nervous system, caused by damage to nerve fibers or incorrect orders from the main command center - the brain.

In somatic disorders, improper functioning causes a disturbance in a person’s emotional background due to stress, an individual too strong reaction of the body to any changes or any factors, or in case of mental disorders.

With strong emotional reactions In a person, stress hormones are released into his blood, which affect the autonomic system, causing it to send certain nerve impulses internal organs, designed to adjust the body’s functioning to suppress any danger. Such signals cause rapid heartbeat, breathing, designed to saturate the muscles with oxygen nutrients, sweating for better heat transfer during movement, muscle hypertonicity and other reactions. In addition to stimulating some actions, vegetative system begins to oppress others, less important at the time of danger, for example, digestive functions, therefore, with somatic disorders, patients often experience at least discomfort in the intestines, associating this with dysbacteriosis or infectious diseases, since in times of physical danger, eating is a secondary function, and nature does not like to disperse forces.

With a short-term effect, these actions really help to cope with the situation, but with a long duration they wear out some organs very much, while depressing others, which entails serious health problems.

If the human nervous system reacted this way only to real threat vital activity of the body, then such a protective effect did not cause any special problems for people, however, the brain subconsciously takes as a threat any unpleasant situation for a person, theoretically capable of harming him, even morally. Because of this, in an age of high stress with mass workaholism, the syndrome of autonomic somatic dysfunction is especially popular.

In addition to stress, various psychological abnormalities and human diseases can trigger the reaction, as well as toxic poisoning the body or physiological damage to nerve fibers, when the initially correct signal is distorted along the path from the brain to the target, in this case, the cardiovascular system, called asthenovegetative syndrome.

Symptoms of VSD

Vegetative-vascular dystonia is a polysymptomatic disease; often its symptoms are closely related to the symptoms of a general somatophoric autonomic disorder, the presence of which can easily suggest the presence of VSD. Vegetative somatophoric syndrome can be expressed in disturbances in the functioning of any organs, and vegetative-vascular dystonia - only in the cardiovascular system, being a subclass of SVD, which means that if there is one of them, then there is the second.

It is also worth knowing that the autonomic nervous system consists of two sections: parasympathetic and sympathetic, one of which is designed to stimulate the activity of organs, and the other to inhibit. Because of this, opposite symptoms may occur, for example, increased heart rate with increased blood pressure and its slowdown with a drop in blood pressure.

Symptoms

• First of all, various cardiac manifestations are felt: all kinds of pain and sensations in the chest in the region of the heart.
• Tachycardia is rapid contractions of the heart muscle or a feeling of heart stopping.
• Arrhythmia is a violation of its rhythm.
• Vascular diseases, including disorders of vascular function due to somatic muscle reactions, for example, circulatory disorders due to compression of blood vessels due to muscle hypertonicity.
• Headaches and dizziness associated with impaired blood circulation in the brain.
• Fainting and fainting.
• Sweating.
• Increase or decrease in blood pressure.
• Drowsiness or overexcitement.
• Unstable nervous conditions.
• Periodic or constant violations temperature regime, When internal temperature the body does not correspond to the norm, but is overestimated or underestimated in the range from 35 to 38 degrees.
• Anxiety, neurosis, panic attacks and other neurological or mental disorders.
• Congenital or acquired physiological damage to organs nervous system.
• Shortness of breath or breathing problems.

Causes of shortness of breath with VSD

Shortness of breath and a feeling of lack of air during VSD is one of the most common symptoms, which may arise from various reasons or because of their combination.

Sensations associated with breathing and SVD may be of the following nature:

• Normal shortness of breath with rapid breathing.
• A feeling of difficulty in breathing or periodic complete shortness of breath.
• Lack of air during any breathing, accompanied by dizziness, sometimes even fear of losing consciousness.
• Symptoms bronchial asthma, when the frequency of breaths can reach fifty per minute.

A person may feel a lack of air due to real processes in the body, and due to psychological subconscious reasons.

There are certain neurological, and not psychological illnesses when the organism itself, and not the person, so to speak, is afraid of death and perceives any deviations as a threat to life. A rapid heartbeat can provoke a reaction, a little increased level carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, which a person may not even consciously notice, etc. In this case, the body seems to have little inhaled oxygen, and it constantly tries to compensate for the imaginary deficiency with a reserve, organizing hyperventilation of the lungs. In addition to the fact that because of this a person experiences constant discomfort, an excess of oxygen provokes migraines, fainting and semi-fainting conditions.

Physiologically, a feeling of lack of oxygen may arise due to a violation of the feedback signals of the autonomic nervous system, when the brain simply does not receive signals of saturation and continues to push oxygen into the blood.

Shortness of breath may be felt due to defensive reaction the body to stress, when it saturates the muscles with it so that they can work more fully to overcome danger. This mechanism has already been described above.

Dyspnea during VSD can cause cardiac or vascular failure associated with the absorption and delivery of oxygen various bodies. Those. Oxygen may indeed not reach vital organs and the brain, which the body tries to compensate for by breathing.

Since somatophoric autonomic disorders can cause disruption of the sympathetic or parasympathetic systems, in addition to shortness of breath, difficulties with inhaling air or slow breathing may occur, which actually leads to asphyxia varying degrees heaviness from the most imperceptible to the patient’s feeling of suffocation or inability to take a breath.

Violations, being one of the symptoms, very often cause the appearance of other reactions of the body, by which this disease is calculated. Hyperventilation of the lungs or, conversely, oxygen starvation has a depressing effect on the brain and the entire human nervous system, causing headaches, dizziness, fainting with semi-fainting states, as well as disruption of other organs and systems due to oxygen starvation or excess oxidation, which is inevitable leads to a reverse stress reaction, a response from the nervous system and an even greater increase in the VSD syndrome.

How to treat shortness of breath

SVD and VSD, in particular, are self-aggravating diseases, where the disease causes symptoms, and the symptoms stimulate the development of the disease, forming a vicious circle. That is why, even with incomplete confidence in the true causes of the disease and the impossibility of eliminating them, doctors usually use very effective symptomatic treatment, which improves the patient’s condition many times over and can really lead to recovery.

In the case of breathing disorders, you first need to determine which option they lead to: hypoxia or hyperventilation of the lungs, so as not to cause harm by further intensifying the symptom.

Next, the first step in any form of manifestation of SVD is to begin healthy image life to calm your body. By the way, calming down will not hurt the nervous system, which is why doctors always prescribe sedatives of varying strength and purpose from valerian to potent psychotropic drugs.

Physiotherapeutic techniques are also needed to put all systems of the body in order: playing sports, walking in fresh air rich in oxygen and natural smells, yoga, the techniques of which are aimed at controlling and normalizing internal processes and energies.

Enhanced nutrition rich in vitamins, minerals, nutrients, but at the same time easily digestible, will restore the internal comfort of the body and relieve tension in the nervous system, weakening the body’s subconscious worries about its existence.

Any specific medications, aimed at relieving this symptom, only the attending physician has the right to prescribe, because these drugs can not only directly enhance or block vital important function- breathing, but also influence it by influencing other organs, for example, increasing blood circulation. In addition, only a doctor can determine whether a person really experiences oxygen starvation or an excess of it or whether it only seems to him.

A neurologist and a cardiologist deal with the problems of SVD and VSD, and it is necessary to undergo an examination for hidden presence any mental illness and consultation with a psychotherapist, since these diseases begin, first of all, due to the patient’s psychological reactions to the reality around him and his internal state.

According to the International Classification of Diseases, or ICD-10, VSD diseases does not exist. But despite this, many are familiar with the unpleasant manifestations of dystonia:

• sudden shortness of breath;
• headaches;
• weather sensitivity;
• pressure changes.

There are other symptoms of autonomic nervous system disorder. Often found:

• tightness or pressure in the chest, in the area of ​​the heart;
• feeling of a lump in the throat;
• difficulty inhaling and exhaling;
• tachycardia;
• tremor of the limbs;
• dizziness.

These manifestations are characteristic of a common form of autonomic dysfunction - pulmonary hyperventilation syndrome, which accompanies a panic attack with lack of air. It is known that 15% of adults on the planet are familiar with this condition.

Lack of air is often mistaken for a manifestation of disease. respiratory system. This is not surprising, because something similar happens with asthma and bronchitis. But to distinguish the feeling of lack of oxygen during VSD from a life-threatening condition - acute respiratory failure- not so simple.

Of all the unconscious functions of the body (heartbeat, bile secretion, peristalsis), only breathing is controlled by the human will. Each of us is able to hold it for a while, slow it down, or start breathing very quickly. This occurs due to the fact that the work of the lungs and bronchi is coordinated simultaneously by two parts of the nervous system:

• vegetative,
• somatic.

While singing, playing wind instruments, inflating balloons, trying to get rid of hiccups, everyone independently controls the breathing process. Unconsciously respiratory function regulated when a person falls asleep or, relaxing, thinks. Breathing becomes automatic and there is no danger of suffocation.

The medical literature describes a rare hereditary disease- Ondine's curse syndrome (congenital central hypoventilation syndrome). It is characterized by a lack of autonomous control over the breathing process, decreased sensitivity to hypoxia and hypercapnia. The patient cannot breathe independently and may die from suffocation in his sleep. Currently, medicine is making great strides even in the treatment of such pathology.

The special innervation of breathing makes it hypersensitive to the influence external factors- to provocateurs of the VSD:

• fatigue;
• fear;
• bright positive emotions;
• stress.

The feeling of not having enough air is closely related to autonomic dysfunction and is reversible.

Recognizing the disease is not an easy task

How correctly metabolic reactions occur depends on correct gas exchange. By inhaling air, people receive a portion of oxygen; by exhaling, they return it to external environment carbon dioxide. A small amount of it remains in the blood, affecting acid-base balance.

• When there is an excess of this substance, which appears along with an attack of VSD, respiratory movements become more frequent.
• Lack of carbon dioxide (hypocapnia) leads to rare breathing.

A distinctive feature of VSD is that attacks of suffocation appear with a certain frequency, as a consequence of the influence of a very active stimulus on the psyche. A combination of symptoms is common:

• Feeling like you can't breathe full breasts. It becomes stronger when a person finds himself in a crowded place, a closed space. Sometimes worries before an exam, a performance, or an important conversation intensify the so-called empty breath.
• Feeling of a lump in the throat, as if there was a barrier to the passage of oxygen to respiratory organs.
• Stiffness of the chest, preventing you from taking a full breath.
• Intermittent breathing (with short stops), accompanied by an obsessive fear of death.
• A sore throat that develops into a continuous, long-lasting dry cough.

Bouts of yawning in the middle of the day, frequent deep sighs are also considered symptoms respiratory distress neurotic origin. At the same time, discomfort in the heart area and short-term surges in blood pressure may occur.

How to eliminate a dangerous condition

From time to time, those suffering from VSD experience dyspeptic symptoms that make them think about various diseases gastrointestinal tract. The following symptoms of autonomic imbalance lead to this:

• attacks of nausea, vomiting;
• intolerance to some food products;
• constipation, diarrhea;
• causeless abdominal pain;
• increased gas formation, flatulence.

At times, with VSD, along with a lack of air, there is a disturbing feeling that what is happening around is unreal; one often feels dizzy and faints. Even more confusing is the rising temperature (37-37.5 degrees) and nasal congestion.

Similar symptoms are characteristic of other diseases. People suffering from asthma and bronchitis often complain of a lack of oxygen. The list of diseases similar to VSD also includes problems of cardiovascular, endocrine, digestive systems.

This makes it difficult to determine what is causing feeling unwell is vegetative-vascular dystonia. To exclude the presence of a serious pathology manifested by a feeling of lack of air, you need to undergo thorough examination, including consultations:

• neurologist;
• endocrinologist;
• therapist;
• cardiologist;
• gastroenterologist.

From diagnostic procedures To confirm VSD, radiography of the lungs, ultrasound of the thyroid gland and other organs are required. It is especially important to carry out functional studies external respiration- spirography and spirometoria.

Only by excluding life-threatening pathological conditions it is possible to establish that the true cause of lack of air is autonomic dystonia.

However, patients who have become accustomed to the idea of ​​having a “serious illness” do not always agree with the objective results of the examination. They refuse to understand and accept the idea that despite shortness of breath, they are physically practically healthy. After all, the lack of air that occurs as a result of VSD is safe.

How to restore breathing - emergency help

If symptoms of hyperventilation appear, in addition to breathing into a paper or plastic bag, another method will help.

• To calm shortness of breath, cup your hands tightly around your chest ( bottom part), placing your hands in front, behind.
• Apply pressure to your ribs to bring them closer to your spine.
• Keep your chest compressed for 3 minutes.

Execution special exercises– an obligatory part of therapy for lack of air. It implies inclusion, a gradual transition to breathing through the diaphragm instead of the usual chest. These exercises normalize gas composition blood and reduce hyperoxia caused panic attack.

It is believed that diaphragmatic inhalation is done unconsciously; air flows easily when a person experiences positive emotions. Chest - on the contrary, is accompanied by a lack of air during stress.

It is important to adhere correct ratio between the duration of inhalation and exhalation (1:2), while it is possible to relax the muscles of the body. Negative emotions exhalation is shortened, the ratio of diaphragm movements becomes 1:1.

A rare deep breath is preferable to a frequent shallow one. It helps avoid hyperventilation. When exercising to relieve shortness of breath, follow following conditions:

• The room must first be ventilated, the air temperature should be 15-18 degrees.
• Play soft, calm music or do exercises in silence.
• Let your clothes be loose and comfortable for doing exercises.
• Conduct classes according to a clear schedule (morning, evening).
• Train 2 hours after eating.
• Visit the toilet in advance, emptying your bowels, bladder.
• Before execution health complex You are allowed to drink a glass of water.

After prolonged exposure to the sun, as well as being in a state severe fatigue, you should refrain from gymnastics. You can start it no earlier than 8 hours later.

It is forbidden to perform exercises when serious problems health issues affecting:

• heart, blood vessels ( cerebral atherosclerosis, severe form arterial hypertension);
• lungs;
• hematopoietic organs.

Cannot be used similar method women during menstruation, pregnancy, glaucoma.

How to learn to breathe correctly

Getting started breathing exercises, eliminating lack of air, focus on your well-being. Monitor the frequency carefully heart rate. Sometimes nasal congestion occurs, yawning and dizziness begin. There is no need to be afraid, the body gradually adapts.

Difficulty breathing during VSD can be corrected with a simple exercise:

• Lie on your back after darkening the room.
• Closing your eyes, try to relax your torso muscles for 5 minutes.
• Using self-hypnosis, evoke a feeling of warmth spreading throughout the body.
• Take a slow, deep breath, pushing out your abdominal wall. In this case, air fills the lower lobe of the lungs, and rib cage expands with a delay.
• The inhalation is longer than the exhalation, the air is pushed out by the stomach (with the participation of the abdominal muscles), and then by the chest. The air comes out smoothly, without jerking.

An alternative option is to use a Frolov simulator, which is a plastic glass (filled with water) with a tube through which you inhale and exhale. This normalizes the ratio of oxygen, carbon dioxide, stops attack of VSD, manifested by acute lack of air. The main purpose of the simulator is to saturate the inhaled air with carbon dioxide and reduce the amount of oxygen in it. This gradually leads to an increase in human adaptive capabilities.

Treatment of VSD accompanied by attacks of lack of air, is ineffective if you don’t know the real reason problems.

Only an experienced psychotherapist can help you find out what psychotraumatic factor causes an attack. The doctor will explain how to get rid of such a legacy and not give in to panic, which causes a problem with air supply. It’s better to calm down right away, because with VSD, choking can be cured without medications, but only with the participation of the patient.