Asthma

• If you're running, jogging, stair-stepping, cycling or doing any other kind of aerobic exercise and you can't catch your breath, even when you slow down or stop for more than three minutes, quickly pay attention to your body. If you have no other abnormalities or pains and it's just your breath, then it may be asthma. Asthma occurs because bronchial tubes running to your lungs constrict, making it hard to breathe. See your doctor for testing. Asthma is often linked to allergies and can be seasonal. It can also be stress-induced. Your doctor may give you an inhaler with corticosteroids that can help open up the bronchial tubes during an asthma episode.
  
  

Vocal Cord Dysfunction

• It sounds like asthma and it leaves your short of breath like asthma, but it has nothing to do with your lungs. Vocal cord dysfunction is a syndrome that causes asthma-like symptoms as a result of abnormal closure of the vocal cords, which can leave you short of breath for an extended period. Physicians often misdiagnose it as asthma. If you have been prescribed asthma treatment and it's not working, you may want to discuss vocal cord dysfunction. In order to get a positive diagnosis, your doctor will need to replicate the conditions under which you experience the shortness of breath, which often involves a treadmill test. Treatment options for vocal chord dysfunction are limited and depend on your specific case.
  
  

Heart Attack

• The worst of all possibilities is somewhat unlikely while exercising -- but not impossible. If your shortness of breath comes on suddenly and is accompanied by intense pain or tightness in your chest, irregular heartbeat or even mild pain in your left arm, there's a good chance you're experiencing a myocardial infarction -- better known as a heart attack. Don't take chances -- take an aspirin and call 911 or get to an emergency room.
  
  

Angina Pectoris

• Angina pectoris has symptoms very similar to a heart attack only it has much higher odds of an exercise-induced episode. Many patients describe it as a heavy, strangulating, suffocating experience. In extreme instances, pain can extend to the throat, neck, jaw, left arm and shoulder, and even to the right side. Angina is similar to asthma -- only to the heart. Blood vessels leading to the heart muscle constrict, cutting off the heart's oxygen supply and distressing it. The heart in turn distresses you. A nitroglycerin tablet under the tongue can end an angina episode within 15 minutes. Angina can be triggered by stress, cold, lack of exercise and heart disease. If angina ever strikes, take it very seriously and call 911 or get to a hospital immediately.