Elderly people can’t breathe generally depends on what causes, for elderly patients, the most common cause of breathlessness is mainly considered to be the cause of two factors: 1, pulmonary factors, commonly found in bronchial asthma, chronic bronchitis or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. 2, cardiac causes, most often considered to be caused by coronary heart disease, angina pectoris, or acute coronary syndromes. Therefore, different treatments should be taken according to different causes. For example, if you consider pulmonary factors, you can inhale β2 agonists to expand the airway and relieve the symptoms of wheezing, such as salbutamol and ipratropium bromide can effectively relieve wheezing. If cardiogenic factors are considered, oral nitrates can be taken to dilate the coronary arteries to relieve the symptoms of wheezing.