Have you ever felt suddenly experiencing a shortness of breath after eating? Symptoms of a short breath in medical language are called dyspnea. A short breath after meals may indicate that you are experiencing a particular illness or medical condition, such as heart function problems or indigestion.
Causes of shortness of breath after eating
If you have experienced shortness of breath after eating, do not ignore the symptoms. It may be a sign that you experience certain health problems. Here are the medical conditions that can cause a shortness of breath after eating symptoms:
Gastric acid or gastroesophageal reflux (GERD)
GERD is a condition in which gastric acid rises to the tract that connects the mouth with the stomach. If you experience a stomach acid rise that occurs one or two times each week, you can say you have a GERD. Although GERD can occur at any time, it can be triggered by your eating habits, which then cause you to experience symptoms of short breath or breathing difficulty.
GERD usually occurs in people who are obese, often consume spicy acid and fatty foods, excessive stress, frequent coffee consumption, etc. GERD can cause symptoms such as:
- Chest pain, can be accompanied by chest feel hot (heart burn)
- Shortness of breath
- Pain in the upper abdomen
- Nausea
- Mouth bitter
- Etc.
Usually GERD causes shortness of breath after eating. If you eat with too much quantities.
What you need to avoid when having stomach problems are:
- A late meal. You should eat regularly, in small portions but often.
- Eat spicy and sour, because it will stimulate the production of stomach acid.
- Consume coffee and tea, will also increase the production of stomach acid
- Lack of rest.
- Excessive Stress
Read also:
Baking Soda For GERD Treatment and How To Use It.
Dyspepsia
Dyspepsia syndrome is a collection of gastrointestinal symptoms consisting of flatulence, feels full, so it is easy to satiety, stomach sore in the upper (liver), often belching, nausea, vomiting, etc.
Dyspepsia is usually caused by gastric ulcer disease or excess gastric acid. Treatment of dyspepsia syndrome depends on the cause.
At first, you can take anti-gastric acid medications that contain antacids to relieve symptoms. In addition to the administration of anti-gastric acid drugs on a regular basis, we recommend that you maintain the diet by eating more often in small and regular portions, avoiding spicy foods, acids, alco**hol, coffee, soda, and food that can stimulate the gas production such as cabbage and avoiding injury to the stomach such as aspirin. In addition, psychic stress should also be avoided as it can trigger excessive gastric acid expenditure.
If after running the above therapy, but still no improvement on your complaint, we advise you to consult a specialist in the internal medicine.
Arrhythmias
One cause of shortness of breath after eating is rarely known is arrhythmia. Arrhythmia is a medical term often used to refer to abnormalities in the rhythm of the human heart. The heart rhythm can be a heart that beats too fast, too slow or even irregular.
There are several types of arrhythmias, we need to know, including:
- Bradycardia. A condition that states that our heart beats slower than normal and even irregular.
- Heart block. A condition that states that our heart beats slower than normal, but in the end causes the sufferer to faint or to lose consciousness.
- Supraventricular tachycardia. A condition that states that our heart beats faster than normal.
- Atrial fibrillation. A condition that states that our heart is beating faster than normal and this can happen even when we are resting or not doing any activity.
- Ventricular fibrillation. A condition that states that our heart beats faster than normal and causes the sufferer to lose consciousness until the sudden death.
Read also:
Heart Palpitations After Eating: The causes and Tips for Overcoming it.
Other causes:
- Anxiety disorders.
- Food allergies.
- Asthma
- Lung infection
- Heart disease.
Therefore, if the complaint that you experienced does not improve, it should be checked directly to the doctor, so it can be done further examination. There may be additional examinations such as blood test, X-ray, ULTRASOUND, or endoscopy if it is necessary later.