You breathe in oxygen and breathe out carbon dioxide. Excessive breathing creates a low level of carbon dioxide in your blood. This causes many of the symptoms of hyperventilation.

You may hyperventilate from an emotional cause such as during a panic attack. Or, it can be due to a medical problem, such as bleeding or infection.

Your health care provider will determine the cause of your hyperventilation. Rapid breathing may be a medical emergency and you need to get treated, unless you have had this before and your provider has told you that you can treat it on your own.

If you frequently overbreathe, you may have a medical problem called hyperventilation syndrome.

When you're overbreathing, you might not be aware you're breathing fast and deep. But you'll likely be aware of the other symptoms, including: