Heart/Lung worries, please help calm me

[PoppyGreenDay126]

As the title says, I am worried there is something wrong with my heart or lungs, I don't expect a diagnosis as waiting for further tests, but would be good to know if anyone experienced anything similar.

For last year and a half, I've struggled with:
-Breathlessness/air hunger at rest
-Sometimes elevated HR at rest (95bpm), although normal resting pulse is 72bpm
-Low bp ( my normal was 117/70, now it's more like 100/65)

I've had ECG and blood all normal. A while back i had low ferritin at 15 which was brought up to 65 with iron tabs, but still had the same symptoms with ferritin of 65. B12 350. Hb 12. Thyroid etc all normal. Currently waiting on echo and chest Xray.

The air hunger bothers me the most. It's not like feeling breathless after a run, it's more like not being able to get a full satisfying breath.

I can still go up my 3 flights of stairs at home without feeling breathless but my legs do ache once at the top. I do floor exercises like sit ups ,weights etc no problem but on days when I feel more air hunger, it's harder for me to ride my apex bike.

I don't feel like this all the time. I might have a week of feeling fine and I can exercise on my bike vigoursly, but some weeks are harder ( like today).

I'm 43, female, slim, no known health issues.

I guess I'm looking for anyone with similar exercise while I wait as I have terrible HA

Thanks for reading

Hi Op. I'm not a doctor but it sounds like anxiety. I know it's hard to hear but I had the same experience for many years.

I got my ferritin up to 118 and fitted a mirena to stop bleeding. If you are still bleeding, you will still be losing ferritin stores so you could look into that.

Also look into deep relaxation yoga/breathing exercises.

I taught myself to breathe hard into my diaphragm, that stops any 'over breathing' in its tracks.

@Gardeningsideeffects thank you for responding. It definitely isn't anxiety as I noticed the air hunger coincides with the low bp. What I don't understand that is on somedays I will totally fine and then I won't. I don't know if it could be peri but I thought that was meant to raise bp...

@PoppyGreenDay126 I also have low BP. also found out during peri that I'm hypermobile. Being in peri made no difference to my BP.

But yes it used to come and go for me too.

You should try breathing exercises. Can't hurt.

I'm still not convinced it's anxiety as I don't feel anxious at all, although I will give the breathing technique a go..

Can anyone else relate to this?

No help as I’m also not a doctor but I wanted to say I do understand the description of air hunger. I’m experiencing that exact feeling. Usually for me it’s when I exercise, even just a light walk if I’ve eaten anything. I have to rest for at least an hour even after a sandwich or I get the air hunger and feel nauseous and if I push through I faint. My doctor suggested it’s something to do with a vaso-vagal reaction 🤷🏻‍♀️ but hasn’t suggested anything to help. Please come back and update us if you get a diagnosis.

@EveryKneeShallBow I will update.

I find the air hunger odd as its not like I'm breathless and panting, it's more like I can't get a satisfying breath. o2 sats are always at 98/99% when I feel like this (also tested when with GP).

@EveryKneeShallBow just to update, I had lots of tests including 7day holter ECG, 24-hour bp monitor, chest Xray and echocardiogram and more bloods. All normal except HR is high (av 95bpm) and BP low (average 100/60). Cardiologist seems happy with results, no cause found. Been given a drug to reduce HR.
I still feel episodes of breathlessness but is a bit better than in the summer. Still don't know why my BP is now consistently low. Wondering whether peri could be causing this as symptoms fluctuate so much, I could be doing fine for a week then suddenly have a bad day.

Thanks for updating. I’m sorry you haven’t found a complete solution but I hope the tests have helped you feel calmer. I still experience the air hunger occasionally but I stopped taking one of my BP meds and it seems to have reduced the symptoms. Best wishes.

I think hyperventilating can cause what you call air hunger. Again it's anxiety.
You can get into a habit of over breathing because you are worried about being out of breath.
Have you been given a beta blocker?

have you been tested for asthma?
many people don't wheeze, but just feel they can't get enough air in.
and not being able breathe properly affects heart rate/blood pressure.
medication helps. as do breathing exercises.