Can anemia cause shortness of breath when walking upstairs?

Yes. : Anemia limits your blood's oxygen transport ability, which can make you feel short of breath. Talk to your doc for more insight into your condition, since there are many other cause of breathlessness. Hope this helps.

Signs & symptoms...: Include fatigue, exercise intolerance, headache, pallor, etc. Therapy depends upon the underlying cause, and causes of anemia are many and varied. They can result from impaired rbc production (eg., nutritional deficiencies, marrow infiltration, etc), hematoma, blood loss (gi bleed, hemorrhage, epistaxis, etc.), hemolysis, thalassemia, hemoglobinopathies, etc. See your dr and address this problem.