Should I use this page, or call 999?
Skip this page and call 999 if you are struggling to breathe, it is getting worse quickly, you cannot speak in sentences, your lips or face look blue, or you have chest pain that feels crushing or spreads to the arm, neck or jaw. Do not drive yourself.
Use this page if breathlessness is milder, ongoing, or you are trying to decide between 111 and a GP. This page cannot tell a panic attack from a clot on the lung.
What does shortness of breath feel like?
It is a feeling that you cannot get enough air, that breathing takes more work, or that you are puffed doing things that used to be easy. It may come with a tight chest, wheeze, cough, or dizziness. Some people only notice it on stairs; others feel it at rest.
How fast it started matters more than a clever label. Minutes-to-worse is emergency territory. Weeks of creeping limitation is GP territory.
What can cause it?
Unfitness, a cold, anxiety and being overweight can all make you breathless. So can asthma, COPD, chest infection, anaemia, heart problems, and a blood clot on the lung. Because the list runs from trivial to immediately dangerous, new or worsening breathlessness needs a person, not a self-diagnosis.
If you have an asthma action plan, follow it. If you do not have a diagnosis and this is new, do not invent one.
Could it be a clot, asthma, or the heart?
A clot on the lung can start suddenly, sometimes with pain on breathing in, coughing blood, or a swollen calf. Asthma more often wheezes and responds to your usual inhaler — if it does not, follow your action plan or call 999. Heart problems can cause breathlessness on slight effort, ankle swelling, or waking at night needing extra pillows.
Anaemia and COPD are slower stories. Because the list runs from unfitness to immediately dangerous, new or worsening breathlessness needs a person, not a self-diagnosis.
When is it 111 rather than 999?
Use 111 when you need urgent advice, you can still speak, and it is not clearly a 999 picture — for example breathlessness with a fever that is worsening the same day, or you cannot get a GP and you are worried. In England, Scotland and Wales call 111 (NHS 24 in Scotland). In Northern Ireland use GP out-of-hours on nidirect.
If 111 tells you to call 999, do that. Triage exists to escalate. See pharmacy, GP, 111 or A&E if you are stuck on the door.
When should I see a GP?
See a GP if breathlessness has crept into walking, dressing or talking, wakes you at night, comes with ankle swelling, a cough that will not go, or you have started to avoid activity. Mention if you have ever smoked, had a clot, or recently travelled.
A pharmacist can help with inhaler technique if you already have inhalers, or with a simple cough. Find a pharmacy on Pick My Pharmacy. They cannot rule out a heart or clot problem.
Who should skip this page?
Skip this page if you already meet a 999 description. It is not an asthma action plan, not a fitness programme, and not permission to wait out sudden breathlessness because you have had panic before. The first severe episode gets emergency assessment. After that, a GP can help you tell the patterns apart.
Common questions about shortness of breath
- When is shortness of breath an emergency?
- Call 999 if it comes on suddenly and severely, you cannot catch your breath at rest, it comes with chest pain, or lips or face turn blue. Those patterns can mean a heart attack, a clot on the lung, or a severe asthma attack. Do not drive yourself.
- Can anxiety cause breathlessness?
- Yes. Panic can cause fast, shallow breathing and a feeling of not getting enough air. That is real and distressing. The first time you have severe breathlessness, treat it as medical until a clinician says otherwise. Recurring recognised panic is then treated as panic.
- Should I worry about being puffed when I exercise?
- Feeling out of breath during hard exercise is normal. Be concerned if you become breathless doing things you used to manage, if it is getting worse over weeks, or if it comes on suddenly at rest. Those need a GP, not a new pair of trainers first.
- What will a GP check?
- They will ask when it happens, listen to your chest, and may check oxygen, peak flow, blood tests, a chest x-ray or an ECG. Bring a list of medicines and whether you smoke. See questions for your GP if you want a short list to take in.
- Could it be a blood clot on the lung?
- A pulmonary embolism can cause sudden breathlessness, chest pain that is worse on breathing in, coughing blood, or a swollen painful calf. That is 999, not a wait for a GP slot. Recent surgery, a long flight, cancer, or the combined pill raise the stakes — mention them.
- What should I do while I wait for a GP?
- Stop smoking if you can, sit upright if you feel puffed, and do not start a crash exercise plan. Use your asthma or COPD action plan if you have one. Write when it started and what you can no longer do. A pharmacist can check inhaler technique if you already have inhalers.