Definition of Rapid shallow breathing:

A normal breathing rate for an adult at rest is 8 to 16 breaths per minute. For an infant, a normal rate is up to 44 breaths per minute.

Tachypnea is the term that your doctor uses to describe your breathing if it is too fast, especially if you have fast, shallow breathing from a lung disease or other medical cause.

The term hyperventilation is usually used if you are taking rapid, deep breaths because of anxiety or panic. The terms are sometimes used interchangeably.

Common Causes:

Shallow, rapid breathing has many possible medical causes, including:

• Asthma
• Blood clot in an artery in the lung
• Choking
• COPD and other chronic lung diseases
• Heart failure
• Infection in the smallest air passages of the lungs in children (bronchiolitis)
• Pneumonia or other lung infection
• Transient tachypnea of the newborn