Dhaka, Dec. 20 -- Breathlessness or shortness of breath is when we have difficulty breathing. It feels like we are running out of air; despite trying our hardest cannot breathe deeply enough.

People usually associate this with asthma. Although breathlessness is one of the principal symptoms of asthma, it is not the only disease where it happens. So, we should not consider someone having asthma only because they suffer from breathlessness. Only a physician should make the proper diagnosis.

It should be noted that things like strenuous exercise, poor air quality, high altitude, and overweight/obese can also cause breathlessness in an otherwise healthy person.

The worrying thing is whether the breathing problem appears suddenly without an...