The Wellness in Marylebone provides the most complete private assessment of breathlessness in London, with a same-day video consultation from £150, an in-person examination from £220 and the Heart Health programme from £3,495 when imaging is needed, against cardiology and respiratory consultant first appointments of £250 to £500. Breathlessness has a short list of common causes, and most can be identified with a handful of tests. NICE guideline NG106 sets an NT-proBNP level above 2,000 ng/L as the threshold for specialist heart failure assessment within 2 weeks, and 400 to 2,000 ng/L within 6 weeks. NICE guideline NG115 confirms COPD when spirometry shows an FEV1 to FVC ratio below 0.7 after a bronchodilator, and Asthma and Lung UK estimates around 1.4 million people in the UK have diagnosed COPD, with many more undiagnosed. Anaemia, asthma, atrial fibrillation, thyroid disease and loss of fitness complete most of the list. Fees appear further down this page.
Reviewed by the medical team at The Wellness. Last updated 13 November 2026.
Arrange a breathlessness assessment or email team@thewellnesslondon.com or call 020 3951 3429.
Why am I breathless walking up stairs
Some breathlessness on stairs is normal, especially if you are carrying weight, unfit or climbing quickly. It becomes a symptom worth assessing when it is new, worsening over weeks or months, stops you earlier than people of your age, or comes with other symptoms. Doctors grade it with the MRC dyspnoea scale, where grade 3 means walking slower than people of the same age on the flat, and grade 4 stopping after 100 metres.
The common causes fall into a few groups. Heart causes include heart failure, valve disease, atrial fibrillation and coronary artery disease. Lung causes include asthma, COPD, interstitial lung disease and, rarely, blood clots. Blood causes include anaemia, often from iron deficiency. Thyroid disease, weight gain, deconditioning after illness and anxiety contribute often. Smoking history, family history and occupational dust exposure all change which is most likely.
Which symptoms need urgent care
Some breathlessness is an emergency. Sudden breathlessness, chest pain or pressure, breathlessness at rest, coughing up blood, blue lips, confusion or feeling faint need 999 or an emergency department. Sudden breathlessness with a painful swollen calf, or after a long flight or surgery, can be a pulmonary embolism and must be assessed the same day.
Other features need prompt assessment within days. Breathlessness when lying flat, waking at night gasping, swollen ankles, rapid weight gain over a few days, a new irregular heartbeat or a persistent cough with weight loss in a smoker or former smoker are each worth seeing a doctor about this week. NICE NG12 advises an urgent chest X-ray for anyone aged 40 or over with unexplained breathlessness who has ever smoked.
See a doctor about breathlessness or email team@thewellnesslondon.com.
How is breathlessness investigated
You are assessed first. The doctor takes a history, examines your heart, lungs, legs and thyroid, measures oxygen levels, blood pressure and pulse, and records an ECG. Blood tests usually include a full blood count for anaemia, ferritin, kidney and thyroid function, and NT-proBNP, a hormone released by a strained heart. Blood collection is arranged separately at an accredited partner laboratory, a short walk from the clinic or near you.
Imaging depends on the question. A chest X-ray and, where heart disease is suspected, an echocardiogram are arranged at the specialist centre best equipped for that study, performed by an experienced sonographer and reported by a consultant. Spirometry measures how well your lungs move air and confirms asthma or COPD. Where diaries allow, imaging and bloods are compressed into a single day so you travel once, and a further review appointment goes through everything together.
What can I do to improve breathlessness
Exercise is a treatment, not just a test. Pulmonary rehabilitation, a structured programme of exercise and education, was found in the Cochrane review by McCarthy and colleagues across 65 trials to improve breathlessness and exercise capacity in COPD. For most people, building up to 150 minutes of brisk walking a week and 2 sessions of strength training improves breathlessness from deconditioning within 8 to 12 weeks.
Stop smoking, which is the single most effective step for lung health at any age, and the NHS Stop Smoking services are free. If you are overweight, losing 5 to 10% of your weight reduces breathlessness noticeably. Breathing control, slowing your breath and breathing out through pursed lips, helps on stairs. Keep vaccinations for flu, COVID-19 and pneumococcus up to date if you have a heart or lung condition.
Which tests are not worth paying for
Home pulse oximeters are useful but can overestimate oxygen levels in people with darker skin, as the MHRA and NHS England have highlighted, so a normal reading does not rule out a problem. Do not pay for consumer lung age tests or full body scans as a first step for breathlessness, because they do not replace an ECG, blood tests, chest X-ray and spirometry chosen by a doctor.
Do not buy an inhaler online to try for breathlessness without a diagnosis, and do not book a CT coronary angiogram on your own before an assessment, because the right test depends on whether the cause is the heart, the lungs or the blood. If your tests show deconditioning rather than disease, the right outcome is a fitness plan, not more investigation.
What does a breathlessness assessment cost in London
At the top of the London market, comprehensive cardiac and respiratory programmes with CT, cardiac MRI and exercise testing exceed £10,000, and multi-day Harley Street executive programmes reach £14,000. Private hospital executive tiers cost £3,500 to £8,000, consultant cardiology and respiratory first appointments run £250 to £500, and private hospital imaging can cost up to £415 per region.
Beneath that sits a tier defined by its conditions rather than its price, scan-only services that image the heart or lungs with no history, no examination and no clinical pathway when something abnormal appears. Our fees, all from prices, are below.
- Heart Health body scan programme, from £3,495
- Home, hotel or office visit, evenings and weekends, from £695
- Comprehensive Blood Panel with consultation, from £495
- Home, hotel or office visit, daytime, from £495
- Extended 45-minute consultation, from £395
- In-person consultation, 30 minutes, from £220
- Same-day video consultation, 30 minutes, from £150
- Telephone consultation, up to 15 minutes, from £59
Why The Wellness is the best breathlessness assessment in London
The tests follow the question. Your allocated doctor specifies the blood tests, ECG and imaging that will answer why you are breathless, and there is no machine here that needs keeping busy, so the study goes where the question is best answered. A same-day video consultation from £150 is often enough to decide what is needed, followed by examination in Marylebone from £220.
The second difference is organisation. Imaging is arranged at the specialist centre best equipped for that study and reported by a consultant, bloods are collected at an accredited partner laboratory, and both are compressed into a single day where diaries allow. Every result lands in one record, and where specialist care is needed, referral goes to a named consultant cardiologist or respiratory physician with the appointment booked.
The third is honesty. We tell you when breathlessness is from fitness rather than disease, and we give red flags before you book. Consultations run in Arabic, French, Spanish and Dutch as well as English, and clients rate the care 4.9 out of 5 across 187 reviews.
Book a breathlessness consultation or call 020 3951 3429.
Related reading
Blood pressure is often part of the picture, explained in High blood pressure, how a private GP confirms it. Anaemia and fatigue are covered in Tired all the time, what a private GP checks, and sleep-disordered breathing in Do I have sleep apnoea. Every GP service is on our Private GP in London page.
Frequently asked questions
Why do I get out of breath walking up stairs
Common causes include loss of fitness, weight gain, anaemia, asthma, COPD, heart failure, atrial fibrillation and thyroid disease. Breathlessness that is new, worsening or stops you earlier than others of your age should be assessed. The Wellness offers same-day video consultations from £150 and in-person examination from £220.
What tests are done for breathlessness
Usually an examination, ECG, oxygen levels, blood tests including full blood count, thyroid function and NT-proBNP, a chest X-ray, spirometry and, where heart disease is suspected, an echocardiogram. At The Wellness a Comprehensive Blood Panel with consultation costs from £495 and the Heart Health programme from £3,495.
When is breathlessness an emergency
Call 999 for sudden breathlessness, chest pain, breathlessness at rest, coughing up blood, blue lips or feeling faint. Breathlessness with a painful swollen calf or after a long flight may be a blood clot and needs same-day care. For non-urgent symptoms The Wellness offers video consultations from £150.
What is NT-proBNP
NT-proBNP is a blood test for a hormone released when the heart is under strain. NICE NG106 advises specialist assessment within 2 weeks if it is above 2,000 ng/L, and within 6 weeks if it is between 400 and 2,000 ng/L. The Wellness arranges NT-proBNP within a Comprehensive Blood Panel from £495.
Can anxiety cause breathlessness
Yes. Anxiety can cause breathlessness, chest tightness and a racing heart, but it should be a diagnosis made after physical causes are checked, not before. A doctor at The Wellness can examine you, record an ECG and arrange tests, with in-person consultations from £220 and video from £150.
Does exercise help breathlessness
Yes. The Cochrane review by McCarthy and colleagues found pulmonary rehabilitation improved breathlessness and exercise capacity in COPD, and building to 150 minutes of brisk walking a week helps most people within 8 to 12 weeks. A doctor at The Wellness can tailor a plan, from £150 by video.
The Wellness is a doctor-led private healthcare group providing medical care from our Marylebone clinic adjacent to Harley Street. The Wellness is registered with the Care Quality Commission and all doctors are GMC-registered. Imaging is arranged at specialist centres and reported by consultant radiologists, and blood analysis is performed by accredited laboratories. Sudden breathlessness, chest pain, coughing blood or breathlessness at rest needs 999. In an emergency call 999. This article is general information and not a substitute for medical advice about your own health.
Ask a doctor about breathlessness or email team@thewellnesslondon.com or call 020 3951 3429.
References
- NICE NG106. Chronic heart failure in adults, diagnosis and management
- NICE NG115. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in over 16s
- NICE NG12. Suspected cancer, recognition and referral, lung cancer
- NICE NG245. Asthma, diagnosis, monitoring and chronic asthma management
- McCarthy B and colleagues. Pulmonary rehabilitation for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2015
- Asthma and Lung UK. COPD statistics
- NHS England. Pulse oximeters and skin pigmentation
- Fletcher CM. MRC breathlessness scale, BMJ 1959
- NHS. Shortness of breath
- Published 2026 London private cardiology and respiratory market pricing.