Spontaneous Pneumothorax Collapsed Lung Causes Sharp Chest Pain and Shortness of Breath Symptoms
Pneumothorax is the medical term for collapsed lung. A lung collapses because of an air leak into your chest cavity. The extent of a lung’s cave in is in proportion to the pressure of leaked air.
An entire lung can collapse, but only a partial collapse is far more common. If only a small amount of air gets into your pleural space, then you may only experience slight symptoms of chest pain, and possibly shortness of breath.
Whereas, a seriously collapsed lung causes additional symptoms like:
- fatigue
- hypoxia
- hypotension
- nasal flaring
- rapid heart rate
- chest tightness
- anxiety, stress, tension
Several conditions or situations may be the cause for a collapsed lung, for instance:
- COPD
- asthma
- tuberculosis
- chest trauma
- cystic fibrosis
- whooping cough
- inhaled foreign object
- excessive lung pressure
- air blister break on lung’s surface
Sometimes the cause of collapsed lung sharp chest pain and shortness of breath lung is indeterminable.
There are 4 main sub types of pneumothorax:
- tension pneumothorax
- traumatic pneumothorax
- primary spontaneous pneumothorax
- secondary spontaneous pneumothorax
Tension pneumothorax occurs when the leaked air pressure exceeds the atmospheric pressure. This undue air pressure can cause your lung to completely collapse and compress your heart.
This heart compression can interfere with blood returning to your heart and lead to cardiac arrest. Shock is another major concern. As such, tension pneumothorax can be fatal if not treated pronto.
Traumatic pneumothorax is caused by any blunt or chest penetration injury. Sample circumstances that may cause this type of lung collapse are:
- blow to chest
- deployed air bag
- lung or liver biopsies
- knife, gunshot wound
- mechanical ventilators
- insertion of chest tubes
- cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR)
Primary spontaneous pneumothorax occurs in seemingly healthy folks. It’s most common in tall, thin males in their 20 to 40 age range. It’s believed to be caused by a small lung air blister that ruptures.
Ruptures causing spontaneous pneumothorax tend to happen as a result of air pressure changes. A couple activities that involve enough pressure change are:
- flying
- scuba diving
- high altitude climbing
A primary spontaneous pneumothorax is typically mild because your collapsed lung usually closes the air escape hole as well. Smoking is the leading risk factor for primary spontaneous pneumothorax.
Secondary spontaneous pneumothorax develops in those who already have some type of lung disease. Emphysema takes the top billing. But other lung related conditions can lead to secondary pneumothorax too, such as:
- pneumonia
- lung cancer
- tuberculosis
- cystic fibrosis
A small pneumothorax frequently goes away on its own. If over a quarter of your lung collapses, then you’ll likely need the chest cavity air removed.
As for your health future after a pneumothorax event, you have about a 50-50 chance of a recurrent lung collapse.
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