Long COVID Atlas › Glossary › Breathing pattern disorder
DisorderBreathing pattern disorder
https://longcovidatlas.org/glossary/breathing-pattern-disorder
In plain language
What it is
Breathlessness that comes from how you are breathing, fast, shallow, and high in the chest, rather than from damaged lungs.
Why it matters
It is common after COVID, it is not anxiety, and it is treatable by relearning slower, diaphragm-led breathing.
Think of it like
A car idling too high: nothing is broken, but the rhythm is off, and resetting it calms everything down.
For specialists
Formal definition
A disorder of breathing mechanics and rhythm, often upper-chest and rapid, producing breathlessness disproportionate to lung function.
Mechanism
Loss of diaphragm-led breathing raises the work and the sensation of breathing independently of gas exchange; it is identified on assessment and addressed with physiotherapy retraining.
Sources
- Dysfunctional breathing symptoms, functional impact and quality of life in long COVID (BMJ Open Respir Res 2023) free full text ›