How Is Dyspnoea Detected? Key Tests and Diagnosis

Posted on: Apr 28, 2025 | 3 mins | Written by: HDFC ERGO Team

How Is Dyspnoea Detected? Key Tests and Diagnosis

Dyspnoea is a condition where the lungs don’t get enough air, and you start to feel a tightness in your chest. The common name for this condition is shortness of breath. A combination of various conditions can lead to breathlessness. Usually, dyspnoea indicates a medical emergency, as you start feeling suffocated due to the lack of air in your lungs. Keep reading to know how is dyspnoea detected and some of the major causes of this condition.

How is Dyspnoea Detected

Before knowing the diagnostic procedures for dyspnoea, it is worth understanding more about its common triggers. Acute dyspnoea is a sudden episode of breathlessness and chest tightness. The reasons could be harmless (intense exercises, high altitudes, severe fluctuations in temperature, etc.). However, in some cases, the triggers of acute dyspnoea can also include certain health risks such as lung problems, cardiac issues, anaemia, anxiety, pneumonia, multiple sclerosis and more.

If patients have been experiencing breathlessness issues for several weeks continuously, they are diagnosed with chronic dyspnoea. The triggers for this condition could be asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, obesity, pericarditis and scarring of the lung tissues.

Doctors watch out for dyspnoea symptoms like breathlessness, palpitations, coughing, sneezing, chest tightness, etc., before recommending one or more of the following:

• X-rays –

These help to get accurate images of the lungs, heart and other vital organs to check the source and extent of the damage caused by dyspnoea.

• CT scans –

When doctors cannot confirm their diagnosis with the help of X-ray images, they recommend patients undergo detailed computerised tomography (CT) scans.

• ECG –

If doctors suspect cardiac issues to be the trigger for the dyspnoea problem in patients, they perform an electrocardiogram of the heart.

• Spirometry tests –

In this process, the lung capacity and airflow (inflow/outflow) are measured accurately.

• Cardiopulmonary exercise testing –

In this test, doctors check your oxygen inflow and carbon dioxide outflow when you do a particular exercise (treadmill, bike, etc.) to check your overall lung functioning.

Conclusion

While dyspnoea is not a critical ailment, the causes of this condition can be life-threatening if symptoms are not diagnosed early on.

If the causes are due to a cardiac or lung issue, the treatments can get complicated and costly. Ensuring your financial protection by investing in a health insurance policy to cover these costs. Consider having a critical illness insurance policy (a standalone plan or your main policy’s rider) for coverage for serious ailments.

Disclaimer: The above information is for illustrative purposes only. For more details, please refer to the policy wordings and prospectus before concluding the sales.

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