Hyperventilation: cause or effect?

A young person presenting with shortness of breath is common to the accident and emergency department. Usually this hyperventilation is anxiety related or a panic attack, but sometimes it can be caused by a serious underlying condition like pulmonary embolus. Acute shortness of breath in any patient...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Emergency medicine journal : EMJ 2000-09, Vol.17 (5), p.376-377
Main Authors: Mehta, T A, Sutherland, J G, Hodgkinson, D W
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Acute Disease
Adult
Anxiety
Birth control
Case Report
Diagnosis, Differential
Embolisms
Emergency medical care
Family medical history
Family physicians
Female
Hospitals
Humans
hyperventilation
Hyperventilation - etiology
Hypoxia
Pain
Pulmonary Embolism - complications
Pulmonary Embolism - diagnosis
Surgery
Thromboembolism
Ventilation
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Summary:A young person presenting with shortness of breath is common to the accident and emergency department. Usually this hyperventilation is anxiety related or a panic attack, but sometimes it can be caused by a serious underlying condition like pulmonary embolus. Acute shortness of breath in any patient should never be dismissed lightly. It is important to realise that pulmonary embolus can present without chest pain and with shortness of breath as the major symptom. Such patients can be distinguished by close attention to history and examination, risk factors for thromboembolic disease and the use of basic investigations (electrocardiogram, chest radiography and arterial blood gas analysis). A serious cause for shortness of breath must be excluded before labelling it as “hysteria” or “panic”.
ISSN:1351-0622
1472-0205
1472-0213
DOI:10.1136/emj.17.5.376