Early Detection of COPD

It is hard to diagnosis COPD in the early stages. Many times COPD symptoms are ignored or thought to be “just being out of shape” or part of “getting older”. 

Usually, those with COPD will begin to notice symptoms of shortness of breath when they reach their mid-40’s.  However, early signs of COPD (chronic cough and increased mucus production) may be present but are not bad enough to cause concern.

However, the earlier you know you have COPD, the earlier you and your doctor can take steps to improve Lung Health Online and to prevent further damage to the airway. Some measures such as smoking cessation and avoiding respiratory irritants can help you stop the damage to your lungs.

Spirometry

Spirometry is used to diagnose and monitor the progress of COPD. According to the National Lung Health Education Program, all persons aged 45 or older who currently smoke or have quit smoking should have a spirometry test.

The test is done in the doctor’s office and takes only a few minutes to complete. You will be asked to take a deep breath in and then blow out all the air in your lungs as hard and fast as you can for at least six seconds.

After the test is completed, the doctor will look at 2 important numbers:

FEV1—the amount of air that is blown out in the first second of exhalation

FEV1/FEV6—a ratio of the time it takes you to blow out one second to the amount of air that you can blow out in six seconds. This number (written as a percent) gives the doctor important information needed to make the diagnosis of COPD.

Do I Need to Be Tested for COPD?

• Do you (now) or have you ever smoked?
• Are you short of breath more often than other people?
• Do you have a cough that does not go away? For example: daily coughing or the ‘morning’ cough?
• If you cough, do you cough up mucus?
• Do people around you smoke?
• Do you work around chemicals and dust?
• Does bronchitis or emphysema run in your family?
• Do you wheeze (a whistling or squeaky sound when you breathe)

If you have answered, “yes” to any one of these questions, ask your doctor about having a simple breathing test to check for COPD. 

COPD and asthma have some of the same symptoms, such as coughing and wheezing. But there some important differences between the two such as:

• COPD most often develops in smokers and former smokers who are in their mid-40s.
• The age of onset of COPD for those who have Alpha 1 Emphysema is usually between 30 to 40 years of age
• Asthma occurs at all ages and it is more common in children than adults.
• A flare-up of COPD is often caused by respiratory tract infections – often seen symptoms are: decreased energy level making your usual activities harder to complete,  increased mucus production, change in color of mucus, increased coughing.
• COPD patients rarely have a day without symptoms. Airflow obstruction in COPD is only partially reversible with smoking cessation and bronchodilator use. Medications do help, but the airways are never quite normal.
• With medication, asthma patients have near-normal lung function and are symptom-free between flare-ups.