What should I do if I feel chest tightness and shortness of breath? What foods can help relieve it?

Many elderly people will often experience chest tightness and shortness of breath after they reach a certain age. Such symptoms are generally quite common, mainly due to the decline of cardiopulmonary function, which leads to functional instability. You can use some lung-benefiting and qi-replenishing foods to help relieve the symptoms.

1. Eat more foods that can remove dryness and moisten the lungs

The elderly usually choose foods that can strengthen the spleen, benefit the lungs, nourish the kidneys, regulate qi, and resolve phlegm, such as pig, beef, and sheep lungs, as well as loquat, orange, pear, lily, monk fruit, jujube, lotus seeds, almonds, walnuts, honey, and white fungus. These help to strengthen the physical fitness, have the effects of relieving cough, removing phlegm, relieving spasms, clearing away heat, and moistening the lungs, and play a certain role in preventing and treating chronic heart and lung diseases.

2. Eat “easy to digest” foods regularly

Elderly people with poor heart function have decreased blood circulation, gastrointestinal congestion, and reduced digestion and absorption functions. Therefore, the food they eat should be easily digestible.

3. "Limited salt and low fat" daily diet

Limiting sodium salt intake can reduce the heart burden of the elderly, prevent heart failure, and avoid edema; it is advisable to consume less than 3 grams of salt per day, and eat less high-salt foods, such as pickles and preserved products. A low-fat diet is beneficial to the digestion of the elderly's stomach and intestines and reduces the burden on the gastrointestinal tract and heart; a high fat content can easily cause increased blood lipids and blood viscosity in the elderly, slow local blood flow, and aggravate heart and lung diseases.