If your healthcare provider suspects you havechronic obstructive pulmonary disease(COPD), you will likely be asked to have a chest X-ray. A chest X-ray is a simple, non-invasive imaging technique that uses electromagnetic waves to create a two-dimensional picture of your heart, lungs, and diaphragm.
While a chest X-ray cannot make adiagnosis of COPD, especially in early-stage disease, it can help support it.
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What a Chest X-Ray Can Tell Us
In later-stage disease, visual changes will become more apparent. One of the most obvious features will be the so-calledhyperinflationof the lungs. When this happens, the healthcare provider will be able to see several things on the X-ray:
In the event your healthcare provider needs a more extensive view of the lung structure and damage, acomputed tomography (CT) scanmay be ordered. Where a chest X-ray will only deliver a two-dimensional image of the lungs, a CT scan will take a series of images to create a more three-dimensional representation. In doing so, the CT scan can pick up finer detail and provide healthcare providers a more complete portrait of the person’s COPD.
How COPD Is Diagnosed
To make an accurate diagnosis of COPD, a comprehensive evaluation would be performed to provide a baseline assessment of your current health, your family history, your smoking status, and any environmental or occupational toxins you may have been exposed to.
In addition to a chest X-ray, you may be asked to undergo one or several of the following tests:
If a positive diagnosis is returned, your healthcare provider would next determine thestage of your diseaseand design atreatment planto help slow the progression of COPD.
2 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Washko GR.Diagnostic imaging in COPD.Semin Respir Crit Care Med. 2010;31(3):276–285. doi:10.1055/s-0030-1254068Vogelmeier CF, Criner GJ, Martinez FJ, et al.Global strategy for the diagnosis, management, and prevention of chronic obstructive lung disease 2017 report. GOLD executive summary.Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2017;195(5):557-582. doi:10.1164/rccm.201701-0218PP
2 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Washko GR.Diagnostic imaging in COPD.Semin Respir Crit Care Med. 2010;31(3):276–285. doi:10.1055/s-0030-1254068Vogelmeier CF, Criner GJ, Martinez FJ, et al.Global strategy for the diagnosis, management, and prevention of chronic obstructive lung disease 2017 report. GOLD executive summary.Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2017;195(5):557-582. doi:10.1164/rccm.201701-0218PP
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Washko GR.Diagnostic imaging in COPD.Semin Respir Crit Care Med. 2010;31(3):276–285. doi:10.1055/s-0030-1254068Vogelmeier CF, Criner GJ, Martinez FJ, et al.Global strategy for the diagnosis, management, and prevention of chronic obstructive lung disease 2017 report. GOLD executive summary.Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2017;195(5):557-582. doi:10.1164/rccm.201701-0218PP
Washko GR.Diagnostic imaging in COPD.Semin Respir Crit Care Med. 2010;31(3):276–285. doi:10.1055/s-0030-1254068
Vogelmeier CF, Criner GJ, Martinez FJ, et al.Global strategy for the diagnosis, management, and prevention of chronic obstructive lung disease 2017 report. GOLD executive summary.Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2017;195(5):557-582. doi:10.1164/rccm.201701-0218PP
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