Question:

Hi All–    My name is Michele and I have been running for over a year now, I do around 5 miles a night. I have been having trouble completing two miles anymore, no energy. And during the 1.5 mark, my chest is real tight and really hard to breathe-what is causing this?

Michele: Please go and see a doctor right away about this. This is not a good place to ask, and these are potentially serious symptoms. No one can say for sure without seeing you, and they should be a professional. good luck, – dave k.

Response:

Although I would agree with the other responses that seeing a doctor is the right way to go I can tell you that I had these exact same symptoms start just a few weeks ago and I believe that it is some form of exercise induced asthma.

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Hi All–    My name is Michele and I have been running for over a year now, I do around 5 miles a night. I have been having trouble completing two miles anymore, no energy. And during the 1.5 mark, my chest is real tight and really hard to breathe-what is causing this? I am healthy, no health problems, weigh 105 pounds. Eat good. I am 27 years old. I am too young for heart problems, so what could be causing this? I seem to not be able to get a good deep breath. I never ever had a problem like this before, Please help, I want to run 5 miles again everynight. Thanks! Michele

Response:

Michele, I’m 25 years old, with no family history of heart disease or high cholesterol.  I eat almost no meat, and run regularly.  However, just to get a baseline reading at my last physical, my Dr. checked my cholesterol and it was 266.  Which is really high.  I’ve had it rechecked several times, even after fasting, and it’s always in the 260’s.   Please don’t assume that because you’re following all the ‘healthy’ rules, everything will automatically be OK.  See your doctor. –Rachel — R. R. Bishop Department of Materials Science and Engineering Northwestern University Proud fan of the Chicago Fire, 1998 US and MLS Cup Champions!

Response:

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Hi All–    My name is Michele and I have been running for over a year now, I do around 5 miles a night. I have been having trouble completing two miles anymore, no energy. And during the 1.5 mark, my chest is real tight and really hard to breathe-what is causing this? I am healthy, no health problems, weigh 105 pounds. Eat good. I am 27 years old. I am too young for heart problems, so what could be causing this? I seem to not be able to get a good deep breath. I never ever had a problem like this before, Please help, I want to run 5 miles again everynight. Thanks! Michele

Hello, 911? yeah, she said she was too young to have heart problems …. OK, By the way, what exactly is CPR? Actually this is not that funny. I have experienced a heart related stroke (at age 32) and hereditary breathing problems, both after many years of successful running and racing. I was not as lucky as you to have any symptoms of the heart condition. GO SEE A DOCTOR. Thank you.:) — … tramps like us, —Share what you know. Learn what you don’t.—

Response:

I just want to add my voice to help discredit the "too young for heart problems" myth. There are people who die from heart problems hours after being born, so I don’t think that there is any lower age limit. The good news is that most heart problems do not preclude exercise or an active lifestyle – if they are treated properly. All of the possible diagnoses I saw from other posters – heart trouble, collapsed lung, asthma, allergies – would best be treated by a doctor. Go see one, please.  :) — Harold – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Hi All–   My name is Michele and I have been running for over a year now, I do around 5 miles a night. I have been having trouble completing two miles anymore, no energy. And during the 1.5 mark, my chest is real tight and really hard to breathe-what is causing this? I am healthy, no health problems, weigh 105 pounds. Eat good. I am 27 years old. I am too young for heart problems, so what could be causing this? I seem to not be able to get a good deep breath. I never ever had a problem like this before, Please help, I want to run 5 miles again everynight. Thanks! Michele

Response:

 …I am too young for heart problems…

Arggh! Who told you *that*?! I was going to leave this alone since so many have already told you to see a doc, but nobody’s taken you to task for this reckless assumption. While it’s true that it’s probably not what’s causing your discomfort, heart problems can occur at any age. By the way, I had chest pains a few years ago; I ignored it for a couple days but finally did go to see a doctor. In my case, I was incredibly relieved to discover that it was a collapsed lung. Even though it took surgery and a hospital stay to fix, it DID fix the problem. My mother had not been so lucky when she had experienced some similar symptoms years earlier, and was diagnosed with congestive heart failure. (Naturally, when my chest hurt and I couldn’t breath properly, I feared that I might have inherited her condition.) Anyway, Michele, I don’t mean to chide at all, I just didn’t want to leave a potentially harmful statement unchallenged. We all wish you the very best. –Dirk

Response:

Michele,    Get to a doctor.. now.     The same thing happened to me and it was my heart. Not to scare you but a lack of energy  and tightness in the chest needs  to be checked out right away.  Ask your doctor about a stress test on a treadmill.    Don’t play around with this.              Dave

Response:

Allergies?

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Hi All–    My name is Michele and I have been running for over a year now, I do around 5 miles a night. I have been having trouble completing two miles anymore, no energy. And during the 1.5 mark, my chest is real tight and really hard to breathe-what is causing this? I am healthy, no health problems, weigh 105 pounds. Eat good. I am 27 years old. I am too young for heart problems, so what could be causing this? I seem to not be able to get a good deep breath. I never ever had a problem like this before, Please help, I want to run 5 miles again everynight. Thanks! Michele

Response:

Michele, I think you should go see a doctor. The kind of symptoms you are having should not be diagnosed in a forum like this. Any type of pressure or tightness in the chest may (or may not) indicate a serious problem. Let a doctor decide.

Response:

I seem to not be able to get a good deep breath. I never ever had a problem like this before, Please help, I want to run 5 miles again everynight.

I feel like this after running when there is lots of pollution in the air. It even hurts sometimes when taking deep breaths because of the air pollution.  It’s all from the cars driving on the streets where I run. —

Response:

Do you have a family history of asthma or eczema?  Maybe, this could represent some kind of exercise induced asthma.  Sounds like you should see a doctor to get checked.  A pulmonary function test can tell if someone has a tendency towards asthma or exercise-induced asthma.  If correctly diagnosed, there is medical therapy (puffers) available. Nevertheless, you should see your physician for advice.

Response:

Hi All–    My name is Michele and I have been running for over a year now, I do around 5 miles a night. I have been having trouble completing two miles anymore, no energy. And during the 1.5 mark, my chest is real tight and really hard to breathe-what is causing this? I am healthy, no health problems, weigh 105 pounds. Eat good. I am 27 years old. I am too young for heart problems, so what could be causing this? I seem to not be able to get a good deep breath. I never ever had a problem like this before, Please help, I want to run 5 miles again everynight. Thanks! Michele

Response:

Related Articles

• Margrove and others: Anixety and Omega 3s (EPA and DHA)
• New member: See story inside…
• Caffeine, Stress and Your Health: Is Caffeine Your Friend or Your Foe? 1/30/06
• reversing Heart Blockage
• Lupron & Heart Disease
• Natural healing
• Omega-3