Episode of Breathing Difficulty After Exercise

A healthy 63 year old female of normal weight, who had a normal heart checkup 3 years ago, I had to do some unusually strenuous work one day last week, involving hauling many buckets of water. That evening, I felt like I couldn't take in enough air; and trying to inhale deeply hurt in the area of the lungs.  As I currently have no insurance or physician, I just tried resting. It was better the next day and the symptoms disappeared in another day. Could this just relate to strained muscles in the chest or is this an indicator of something more serious? Thank you in advance.

[curmudgen]

The answer to your questions ---Yes and Yes.  The latter symptoms should be looked into as they might indicate the beginning of some ischemia in the heart.

[curmudgen]

The answer to your questions ---Yes and Yes.  The latter symptoms should be looked into as they might indicate the beginning of some ischemia in the heart.

[Flycaster305]

Given your health insurance problem, you might start walking briskly for at least thirty minutes after warming up and see if you get breathless and have chest pressure.  If you do, you might have a heart issue.  It's easy for me to spend your money, but the best option would be to see your doctor.  Giving yourself a mini-stress test is an option to make that determination.
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