Climbing one flight of stairs leaves you gasping. Or you suddenly need extra pillows to sleep comfortably at night because lying flat feels harder to breathe. This symptom, sometimes called orthopnea, happens when a struggling heart allows fluid to back up into the lungs. The American Heart Association lists shortness of breath as one of the most common early flags, appearing in roughly 40–50% of people before major heart issues develop.
Here’s the part that surprises most readers: it doesn’t have to feel dramatic. A slight “air hunger” during everyday
