Looking for cause of shortness of breath

I am 32 years old. I smoke about 3/4 pack of cigarettes a day and I am about 40 pounds overweight.  I was recently diagnosed with hypertension, and am currently taking medication to control it.  I had gone to the doctor because I was feeling more and more out of breath, even from just getting up out of bed.  I know smoking and being overweight don't help, but it was getting progressively worse.  The medicine for hypertension has reduced my daily headaches that I get from mid-morning until I go to bed, but they haven't stopped. I had an EKG done and it is normal.  My cholesterol level is 274 and my triglycerides are 712.  All my other blood work is normal, even my CO2 level, but I have to stop sometimes when I walk down the hall and catch my breath.  I am quitting smoking to help my breathing, and am trying to exercise(which is almost impossible when you can't breath), but I am worried what is causing this and what else can be done in the way of testing.  I have no insurance and have to be limited on what I can afford.
If you have any suggestions, please let me know
Thanks

Don Dew

[National Jewish]

There are so many reasons for being short of breath. You have described two of them that you can work on. The first is your weight. The second is smoking. These are two areas totally under your control. The third thing that you can do is to start a very mild program of exercise. This can be simply walking on a flat surface (like a mall or a parking lot) for a short period of time that you can tolerate and increase from there. As far as other reasons, these have to be evaluated by a physician. There could be problems in your lungs, such as asthma, emphysema, etc that need to be evaluated and can only be done face to face with a physician. I would suggest that you research means of getting this care through public health agencies.

[karizmaflip]

you could probably have brhoncitus.do you have a cough? bringing anything up?

[DBA107]

Have you thought about the possibility that you might be asthmatic?  Does anyone in your immediate family have asthma?  The high BP could possibly contributing to the shortness of breath (if it's not under control).  Also, is it possible that you've had head congestion recently that may have "cleared up" by dropping down into your chest?  That can cause constriction of the air ways and give you shortness of breathe, too.