Wiktionary
n. difficulty in breathing; dyspnea
WordNet
n. a dyspneic condition [syn: SOB, breathlessness]
Wikipedia
Shortness of breath, also known as dyspnea a feeling like one cannot breathe sufficiently. The American Thoracic Society defines it as "a subjective experience of breathing discomfort that consists of qualitatively distinct sensations that vary in intensity," and recommends evaluating dyspnea by assessing the intensity of the distinct sensations, the degree of distress involved, and its burden or impact on activities of daily living. Distinct sensations include effort/work, chest tightness, and air hunger (the feeling of not enough oxygen).
Dyspnea is a normal symptom of heavy exertion but becomes pathological if it occurs in unexpected situations. In 85% of cases it is due to asthma, pneumonia, cardiac ischemia, interstitial lung disease, congestive heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or psychogenic causes, such as panic disorder and anxiety. Treatment typically depends on the underlying cause.
Usage examples of "shortness of breath".
The deliquescing, the warmth that had run through it, was gone, overridden by a certain sluggishness of foot, a shortness of breath.
By that time I was recovering my strength, with only an occasional shortness of breath to remind me of my fight to breathe, but my hair, which until now had shown only a few strands of grey, had gone white in the course of my illness.
Only his shortness of breath forced him to slow down to a more decorous, reasonable pace.
He'd been a bloody fool to ignore the warning signs: shortness of breath, chest pain, insomnia, inability to concentrate, sniffing at Arian's hair when he thought she wasn't looking.
He'd already suffered a peculiar tightness in the region of his heart, then shortness of breath in Bloomingdale's private salon.
The walk caused him some shortness of breath, so he saved his questions for later, but he did manage to pause long enough to ask, 'Magnus, who was trying to kill you?
She had been ordered to sea by her physicians for a shortness of breath.
Once Elith had gone to a Healer's tent, complaining of shortness of breath.
The voice betrayed too a certain shortness of breath, for Tara Hill was no brief or easy climb.
Only a lingering paleness and shortness of breath betrayed his former illness.
Today wasn't too bad, a few aches, a shortness of breath, but not too bad.
He would have the same beneath his coat, and he might be troubled by shortness of breath when he exerted himself, if he pulled through, yet for the moment, he did live, and that was all that mattered.
As I understand the matter the only genuine nightmare is the sort of dream in which you suffer from increasing dread and shortness of breath, accompanied by pressure on the chest, until it seems that you must either throw off the weight or be smothered.