Along with chronic bronchitis, emphysema is a form of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or COPD. This lung condition would damage the air sacs or alveoli in the lung and cause frequent shortness of breath. The inner walls of these parts rupture and weaken over time, thus creating bigger spaces. This lowers your lungs’ surface area and reduces the overall oxygen amount in your bloodstream. Smoking is the main cause of this health issue. Treatments might slow the progression but cannot reverse the damages caused by emphysema. Keep reading to learn how to diagnose and treat this lung condition.
1Emphysema Diagnosis
Arterial Blood Gases
Arterial blood gases or ABGs are typically done by taking a blood sample from your artery, mostly the femoral artery in the groin or radial artery in the wrist. The main goal of this test is to determine the amount of carbon dioxide and oxygen in your body. Based on the information, your doctor would know the pH or acidity of your blood. ABGs might be helpful in diagnosing the severity of emphysema and your responses to prescribed treatments. However, this is not a common method compared to other options below due to some limitations. [1]
