Shortness of breath is a common reason why people visit the doctor. It can also be a diagnostic minefield. One of the first tests to be performed will be the use of a spirometer to identify the presence of abnormal breathing patterns, which may be either restrictive or obstructive. The instrument is a general term for a wide variety of strategies for measuring the movement of air into and out of the lungs (pressure transducers, ultrasound, water gauge). Modern spirometers, or pulmonary function monitors (PFMs) may be PC-based or standalone devices.
Pulmonary function tests are used to rule out lung diseases such as emphysema, bronchitis and asthma. They are also used to determine the cause of shortness of breath, assess the effects of medications or contaminants on the lungs and to monitor the progress of treatment. They are performed in advance of lung surgery as a benchmark with which to compare the effectiveness of the procedure.
The prominent Roman physician, Claudius Galen, performed the first lung function test some time in the second century AD. He asked a boy to inhale and exhale into a bladder. Later variants featured bell jars inverted in water. Modern PFMs include the pneumotachometer, the peak flow meter and a whole body plethysmograph.
According to the Mayo Clinic, shortness of breath may be defined as an intense chest tightening and a feeling of being suffocated. It may be confined to a single episode or it may become chronic. While it is important to rule out any serious problems underlying breathlessness, in most cases the root cause is harmless and easily curable.
There are a handful of "red flag" signs which, when they occur at the same time as breathlessness, may indicate a serious underlying condition. These include persistent tiredness and pallor, a chronic wheeze or cough, ankle swelling, a pain that gets worse with exercise, breathlessness that worsens when lying down, any other unusual or recurring symptoms. A history of working with hazardous chemical fumes, asbestos, wood dust or in a coal mine is also something worth mentioning to the doctor.
Asthma, a chronic inflammation of the airways, is one of these serious conditions. The Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta estimate that, at any one time, there are as many as 18.9 million ambulatory adults with asthma. This equates to 8.2 percent of those adults who are not institutionalized.
Once all serious problems have been eliminated from consideration, many cases of shortness of breath can be attributed to one of two causes, muscle knots (aka trigger points) or dysfunctional breathing habits together with weak muscles. Treatment includes exercises to strengthen the muscles. For trigger points, therapy involves massage, which is almost always successful.
A spirometer is an instrument that has been in use for two millennia to detect the cause of breathlessness. It can determine whether it is present and identify whether it is restrictive or obstructive but requires further investigations to rule out the presence of any serious conditions, such as emphysema, asthma or bronchitis. Once these have been eliminated from consideration, they may be attributable to either trigger points or incorrect breathing patterns.
Pulmonary function tests are used to rule out lung diseases such as emphysema, bronchitis and asthma. They are also used to determine the cause of shortness of breath, assess the effects of medications or contaminants on the lungs and to monitor the progress of treatment. They are performed in advance of lung surgery as a benchmark with which to compare the effectiveness of the procedure.
The prominent Roman physician, Claudius Galen, performed the first lung function test some time in the second century AD. He asked a boy to inhale and exhale into a bladder. Later variants featured bell jars inverted in water. Modern PFMs include the pneumotachometer, the peak flow meter and a whole body plethysmograph.
According to the Mayo Clinic, shortness of breath may be defined as an intense chest tightening and a feeling of being suffocated. It may be confined to a single episode or it may become chronic. While it is important to rule out any serious problems underlying breathlessness, in most cases the root cause is harmless and easily curable.
There are a handful of "red flag" signs which, when they occur at the same time as breathlessness, may indicate a serious underlying condition. These include persistent tiredness and pallor, a chronic wheeze or cough, ankle swelling, a pain that gets worse with exercise, breathlessness that worsens when lying down, any other unusual or recurring symptoms. A history of working with hazardous chemical fumes, asbestos, wood dust or in a coal mine is also something worth mentioning to the doctor.
Asthma, a chronic inflammation of the airways, is one of these serious conditions. The Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta estimate that, at any one time, there are as many as 18.9 million ambulatory adults with asthma. This equates to 8.2 percent of those adults who are not institutionalized.
Once all serious problems have been eliminated from consideration, many cases of shortness of breath can be attributed to one of two causes, muscle knots (aka trigger points) or dysfunctional breathing habits together with weak muscles. Treatment includes exercises to strengthen the muscles. For trigger points, therapy involves massage, which is almost always successful.
A spirometer is an instrument that has been in use for two millennia to detect the cause of breathlessness. It can determine whether it is present and identify whether it is restrictive or obstructive but requires further investigations to rule out the presence of any serious conditions, such as emphysema, asthma or bronchitis. Once these have been eliminated from consideration, they may be attributable to either trigger points or incorrect breathing patterns.
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