air hunger

noun

1. deep, rapid, and labored breathing caused by an increased respiratory drive due to abnormally low blood oxygen levels, as in severe heart failure or asthma.

Example Sentences

The resulting sensation of breathlessness or air hunger, Liberles said, can be distressing, yet little is known about how it arises.

From Science Daily

Results of more than 200 autopsies of prisoners put to death by lethal injection showed “an extremely high probability that a person killed by this method will experience pulmonary edema - fluid in the lungs - and air hunger, while feeling an excruciating chemical burn from the potassium,” he said.

From Washington Times

“There’s a physiological response called air hunger,” Hiserodt told me.

From New York Times

Air hunger can feel like suffocation.

From Washington Times

She’s holding two syringes: one in her right hand, to sedate; one in her left, for air hunger.

From Washington Post