Emphysema causes shortness of breath, wheezing, and coughing due to permanent changes in lung structure. Smoking and pollution are leading causes. Treatments include medication, lifestyle changes, and transplantation. Seek medical treatment for symptoms.
Emphysema, a chronic lung condition, can have a variety of effects. The main effects of emphysema are shortness of breath, wheezing and coughing. This condition causes permanent physical changes to the structure of the lungs. If left untreated, these changes can worsen, leading to serious medical complications, including death, for the patient. The leading cause of emphysema is smoking, followed by environmental pollution, particularly pollution that involves large amounts of particulate matter in the air.
In cases of emphysema, the air sacs in the lungs, known as the alveoli, lose their elasticity in response to chronic irritation. As they become less elastic, they can start to break. Instead of having many small alveoli, the lungs develop a small number of larger alveoli. The lungs become less efficient, forcing people to work harder to breathe, and air tends to be held in with each breath.
The immediate effects of emphysema all surround the patient’s breathing difficulty. Patients may experience difficulty breathing after vigorous exercise, in very hot, dry weather, and under stressful conditions. Fatigue is another common effect, caused by a decrease in the body’s oxygen supply. Patients may also develop anxiety and weight loss as the disease progresses. Edema, where fluid builds up in the extremities, is another way emphysema affects the body.
Trapped air in the lungs can lead to a condition called barrel chest, in which the chest expands when the lungs lose elasticity and air is trapped in the chest cavity. This condition may be visible on physical examination and is particularly easy to identify on lateral chest radiographs. X-rays are also used in the diagnosis of emphysema, as they can reveal changes in lung structure and provide insight into how much lung function has been lost.
Once a patient develops emphysema, the lung changes are irreversible. Treatments for emphysema are available and many of these treatments will also address the effects of emphysema. These treatments include medications to improve lung function, lifestyle changes such as quitting smoking to limit further damage to the lungs, and transplantation, in extreme cases.
People with a history of smoking or exposure to environmental pollution who begin to develop the effects of emphysema such as difficulty breathing, a dry, unproductive cough, and wheezing should seek medical treatment. They may have emphysema or another lung condition. Left untreated, such conditions can be fatal, and treatment options dwindle in number as patients wait for treatment.
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