Early Warning Signs And Symptoms Of Emphysema You Should Watch Out For

By Juanita Swindell

Emphysema can be a debilitating condition that affects a person's ability to breathe properly and safely. It can also lead to far more serious medical conditions, like COPD, and eventually to heart disease because of a remarked lack of oxygen in the blood going to the heart. Signs and symptoms of this disease can be painful to endure and difficult to diagnose because of their similarity to other respiratory diseases. However, it is important that they should be diagnosed as soon as possible.

Risk Factors

Simply put, the lifestyle habit that puts most people at risk for developing emphysema is smoking. Lifelong smokers, as well as the people who live around them, are at the highest level of risk for developing this disease, as well as other respiratory diseases that can lead to a very limited quality of life because of the potential for damage to the lungs. If you smoke, stop now, for the sake of your lungs, and future.

Others at risk for developing this disease are those who are routinely exposed to pollutants breathed in through the lungs. Carbon monoxide and caustic chemicals rank nearly as high as cigarette smoke, even second-hand smoke, as a risk of developing breathing difficulties later in life.

Primary Symptoms of Emphysema

The first sign of trouble that most people will notice with this disease is a marked shortness of breath. Even the easiest and simplest exercise will leave a person unable to draw a deep breath and may leave them feeling light-headed or even dizzy afterwards. This is due to a reduced amount of oxygen being drawn through damaged and weakened lungs, the hallmark of this condition.

Anyone who develops a chronic cough, especially one that will come on so suddenly that they cannot no longer draw air into their lungs, should also see their doctor as soon as they can for diagnosis and potential treatment. As this disease progresses, the tiny air sacs within the lungs that help bring oxygen to the blood become weakened and less flexible and chronic fits of coughing is a sure sign that they may have been damaged beyond repair.

Warning Signs

As the disease progresses, breathing will become more and more difficult to do without pain. Emphysema is an irreversible condition, but it can be treated so that it can be managed easier, but catching it early is a determining factor in how well it can be managed, over the remainder of a patient's life. A feeling of heaviness or tightness in the chest is a warning sign that should not be ignored, ever, and may indicate that the damage to the lungs has reached the critical point.

Want to know more about emphysema, and how it can be managed through treatment? The caring professionals at [http://www.trinityprimarycare.com/]Trinity Primary Care have the answers to all of your questions, so call them today for an immediate consultation. Also check out our new page [http://www.trinityprimarycare.com/PrimaryCare/Emphysema.aspx]Emphysema.

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