Urgent helpUrgent helpSymptom guidance

Breathlessness and chest pain

New or severe breathing difficulty, chest pain, fainting or a racing heart is not a routine discomfort to monitor alone.

Direct guidance

What to know or do

Call emergency services for severe or sudden symptoms. Contact your care team promptly for breathlessness that is new, worsening or limiting normal activity.

What changes the answer

  • When it began, whether it is worsening, and how it affects eating, sleep or activity
  • Severity, pattern, one-sided symptoms and accompanying bleeding, fever or fluid loss
  • Pregnancy week, baby movement and relevant conditions or medicines

Urgent help

When to get individual help

Use urgent maternity or emergency care now. This guide cannot determine the cause or confirm that it is safe to wait.

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