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Pulmonary emphysema is a lung disease in which the lungs are over-aerated and disrupt the gas exchange in the body. Environmental factors such as tobacco dependence and air pollution can cause emphysema.
What is emphysema?
Emphysema is a disease in which the air sacs in the lungs become enlarged abnormally. This condition causes the bubbles to lose their elasticity and burst. Due to the fact that they fill with air, the circulation in the lungs is difficult, and the heart is heavily overloaded, which even results in its failure. Emphysema affects the entire lungs and causes irreversible damage to them, which in turn causes us to lose up to 75% of the area needed to oxygenate the blood. Colloquially about emphysema it is said that the lungs have become aerated.
Problems with the respiratory system should be consulted with a pulmonologist. You can make an appointment quickly in private Arkmedic medical facilities. As part of the consultation, a specialist who will order all necessary tests, and also issue prescriptions or exemptions.
Pulmonary emphysema – causes
An increase in air pressure in the bronchi, bronchioles and lungs, and a decrease in the elasticity of the alveoli leads to emphysema – large spaces are occupied by air that damages the entire structure of the lungs. Pulmonary emphysema leads to impaired pulmonary function. Pulmonary alveoli become distended, breathing becomes shallow, and shortness of breath appears.
Read also: Proper breathing – how does it affect our body?
The consequence of these changes is reduced gas exchange efficiency, a decrease in the total volume of pulmonary vessels, an increase in pressure in the pulmonary artery and its branches, and finally additional workloads on the right ventricle.
Factors that influence the risk of emphysema:
- bronchospasms, bronchial asthma, acute and chronic bronchitis,
- cough;
- difficulty expiratory high pressure in the airways,
- elements that weaken the elasticity of the alveolar walls or destroy the alveolar septum (e.g. silicosis, pneumoconiosis).
Symptoms of emphysema
A characteristic symptom of emphysema is frequent and recurrent shortness of breath, shortness of breath, occurring, for example, after exercise. After some time, the cough appears even for no reason, weight loss, muscle weakness.
As the disease progresses, breathing problems begin to arise even when we do nothing. The breathlessness may be accompanied by a cough with little discharge. Patients with emphysema try to get the excess air out of their lungs, so they blow it out through their mouths, which are arranged like a whistle. These patients are called “pink blowers” because it takes a lot of effort to blow the air out, making patients’ faces pink / red with effort.
Some patients sit down and lean forward on their elbows to relax the veins in their neck. All these symptoms should be consulted with your family doctor who will perform the initial diagnostics and refer you to a specialist. Contract visit via the halodoctor.pl portal.
Diagnosis of emphysema
In the diagnosis of emphysema, the following are performed:
- Chest X-ray – if the patient has emphysema, the photo shows lighter elements in the lung fields, a strange flattening of the diaphragm and sometimes emphysema. Sometimes even the patient himself notices irregularities, his chest may resemble a barrel;
- computed tomography of the chest;
- blood gas analysis to identify and control acid-base disturbances;
- spirometry, which measures the volume and capacity of the lungs and air flow.
Treatment of emphysema
There is no reliable treatment for emphysema, we can only alleviate to some extent its symptoms and complications through a proper lifestyle and daily breathing exercises to extend the mobility and flexibility of the lung tissue. Treatment consists in eliminating the factors influencing the development of the disease. The demand for oxygen must also be adjusted to the degree of the possibility of providing it as a result of gas exchange in the emphysema lungs.
Patients with emphysema should get flu vaccinations annually to avoid complications in the event of a possible illness. Any respiratory infection should be treated promptly. Sometimes doctors prescribe bronchodilators and cortisol-based medications. In extreme cases, oxygen is administered.
Complications related to, for example, pneumonia, are treated with antibiotics, heart medications, and sulfa drugs.
Can you avoid emphysema?
The prevention of emphysema consists primarily in getting rid of the causative agents of the disease as soon as possible. When it comes to smokers, the basic rule is simply to quit smoking.