Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsSymptomsCausesDiagnosisTreatmentFrequently Asked Questions
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
Symptoms
Causes
Diagnosis
Treatment
Frequently Asked Questions
Emphysema affects roughly three million Americans.It is associated with severe disability and decreasedlife expectancy. Today,chronic obstructive pulmonary disease(COPD)—which emphysema falls under—is the third leading cause of death in the United States.
Emphysema Symptoms
Emphysema primarily affects the lungs but can also affect other organs and systems, including the heart, muscles, andcirculatory system, as the disease progresses.
Verywell / Nusha Ashjaee
Depending on the stage of the disease and other factors, the symptoms of emphysema may include:
Complications
Emphysema can lead toexercise intoleranceandmuscle atrophy. The combination of decreased physical activity and chronic respiratory stress can promote lean muscle loss, especially in the core muscles—a situation that only increases the severity of respiratory symptoms.
If your COPD symptoms are worsening, speak with your healthcare provider about the possibility of lung cancer. Lung cancer is far more curable when diagnosed in the early stages of the disease.
Signs and Symptoms of Lung Cancer
Causes of Emphysema
Smoking is the most common cause of emphysema, thought to be responsible for 85% to 90% of cases.But there are many other things that can act alone or in conjunction with smoking to cause emphysema.
While researchers can’t be entirely sure why some people get COPD and others don’t, several risk factors have been identified, including:
As many as 5% of people with COPD have a genetic disorder known asalpha-1-antitrypsin deficiency. The condition should be suspected when several family members develop emphysema, particularly if none have ever smoked, or diagnosed at a young age, typically considered under age 50.
Early diagnosis and proper management and treatment of COPD can offer you a better than average outcome, so it’s important to see a provider if you are experiencing any symptoms.
Medical History
Various factors may alert a healthcare provider to a potential diagnosis of COPD. These factors include you feeling short of breath at rest or with exercising and/or experiencing a chronic cough with or without phlegm production.
A history of significant smoking, especially more than 30 to 40pack-years, or a history of significant exposure to various air pollutants or occupational dust are additional factors that may raise suspicion for a diagnosis of COPD.
Physical Examination
Physical exam findings in emphysema will vary depending on the severity of the disease. While one’s physical exam is often normal in the early stages of the disease, over time, the following findings may appear:
Normal and Abnormal Breath Sounds
Pulmonary Function Tests
Pulmonary function tests, specifically a test calledspirometry, are needed to confirm the diagnosis of COPD.
Spirometry entails taking a very deep breath in and then breathing out as hard as you can into a tube that is connected to a machine. The machine (called a spirometer) measures the amount and speed of air going in and out of your lungs.
Two key measurements obtained from spirometry are forced vital capacity (FVC) and (forced expiratory volume (FEV1).
Traditionally, an FEV1/FVC ratio of less than 70% is used to diagnose COPD. However, some healthcare providers use a different set of critera, especially for diagnosing young adults or adults who do not smoke.
PVTs: Evaluating Your Lung Function
Emphysema Treatment
At the current time, emphysema remains an irreversible disease. Treatment is aimed at slowing the progression and complications related to the disease.
Research in lung regeneration therapy is ongoing and may help develop newtreatmentsfor COPD in the future.
Lifestyle Changes
Quitting smokingis critical for individuals living with this condition andcan help to slow the progressionof the disease.Speak with your healthcare provider about ways to support your effort.
Engaging in regular physical activityis also important, as it is what will help prevent muscle atrophy and resulting disease progression. But there’s no doubt that emphysema itself can make exercise difficult.
The best exercises for COPDinclude a combination of endurance, flexibility, and strength training. Your practitioner can help you determine what regimen is best for you.
Medications Used for Emphysema
There are no drug treatments that have proven successful in slowing the rate of decline of lung function with emphysema. Instead, medications are used to help increase exercise tolerance, reduce COPD exacerbations, and improve overall health status.
Medications used for stable COPD include:
Common COPD Inhalers
Get VaccinatedStaying up-to-date with immunizations, especially theflu vaccineand thepneumonia vaccine, helps prevent infections that can worsen your emphysema.
Get Vaccinated
Staying up-to-date with immunizations, especially theflu vaccineand thepneumonia vaccine, helps prevent infections that can worsen your emphysema.
Oxygen Therapy
This can be given continuously, during activity, or for the relief of sudden episodes of shortness of breath. Long-termoxygen therapyof over 15 hours per day is given when a patient has lowoxygen saturationlevels during advanced (stage IV) COPD.
Pulmonary Rehabilitation
Lung Surgery
Lung volume reduction surgery to remove severely damaged tissue may be useful for some people with severe emphysema, especially for those who have disease predominantly involving the upper lobes.Bullectomymay be done in patients who have giant bullae. Lung transplant is another consideration.
A Word From Verywell
Emphysema can be a frustrating disease in many ways. Not only do you have to cope with the physical effects of symptoms and treatments, but the impact they can have on your mental wellness and everyday life as well.
Unfortunately, many people with COPD receive inadequate support. If that applies to you, lean on your healthcare team, consider seeing a therapist, and tap into support groups (theAmerican Lung Associationis a good place to start). You are not alone.
COVID does seem to cause emphysema in some people. This may be a result of damage to the blood vessels or damage to the alveoli.Learn MoreGuide to COVID-19
COVID does seem to cause emphysema in some people. This may be a result of damage to the blood vessels or damage to the alveoli.
Learn MoreGuide to COVID-19
Learn More10 Steps to Increase Your Life Expectancy
11 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.National Emphysema Foundation.COPD and Emphysema Afflict Millions of Adults and Children Today.American Lung Association.Learn About COPD.Harvard Medical School.Emphysema.Zulueta JJ.Emphysema and Lung Cancer. More Than a Coincidence. Ann Am Thorac Soc. 2015;12(8):1120-1. doi:10.1513/AnnalsATS.201506-360ED+Raviv, S., Hawkins, K., DeCamp, M. and Kalhan, R.Lung Cancer in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.2010;183(9):1138-1146. doi:10.1164/rccm.201008-1274CIAmerican Lung Association.What Causes COPD.Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung.Pocket Guide to COPD Diagnosis, Management, and Prevention.Brode SK, Ling SC, Chapman KR.Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency: a commonly overlooked cause of lung disease.CMAJ. 2012;184(12):1365-71. doi:10.1503/cmaj.111749Gentry S & Gentry B.Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.Am Fam Physician. 2017;95(7):433-41.Celik E, Nelles C, Kottlors J, et al.Quantitative determination of pulmonary emphysema in follow-up LD-CTs of patients with COVID-19 infection.Barac A, ed. PLoS ONE. 2022;17(2):e0263261. doi:10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0263261Dziankowska-Zaborszczyk E, Bryla M, Ciabiada-Bryla B, Maniecka-Bryla I.Standard expected years of life lost (Seyll) due to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (Copd) in Poland from 1999 to 2014.PLoS ONE. 2019;14(3):e0213581. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0213581Additional ReadingAmerican Lung Association.Trends in COPD (Chronic Bronchitis and Emphysema): Morbidity and Mortality.Oh, D, Kim, Y, and Y Oh.Lung Regeneration Therapy for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.Tuberculosis and Respiratory Disease. 2017;80(1):1-10. doi:10.4046/trd.2017.80.1.1Rzadkiewicz M, Bråtas O, Espnes GA.What else should we know about experiencing COPD? A narrative review in search of patients' psychological burden alleviation. Int J Chron Obstruct Pulmon Dis. 2016;11:2295-2304. doi:10.2147/COPD.S109700van Agteren JE, Carson KV, Tiong LU, Smith BJ.Lung volume reduction surgery for diffuse emphysema. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2016;10(10):CD001001. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD001001.pub3
11 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.National Emphysema Foundation.COPD and Emphysema Afflict Millions of Adults and Children Today.American Lung Association.Learn About COPD.Harvard Medical School.Emphysema.Zulueta JJ.Emphysema and Lung Cancer. More Than a Coincidence. Ann Am Thorac Soc. 2015;12(8):1120-1. doi:10.1513/AnnalsATS.201506-360ED+Raviv, S., Hawkins, K., DeCamp, M. and Kalhan, R.Lung Cancer in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.2010;183(9):1138-1146. doi:10.1164/rccm.201008-1274CIAmerican Lung Association.What Causes COPD.Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung.Pocket Guide to COPD Diagnosis, Management, and Prevention.Brode SK, Ling SC, Chapman KR.Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency: a commonly overlooked cause of lung disease.CMAJ. 2012;184(12):1365-71. doi:10.1503/cmaj.111749Gentry S & Gentry B.Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.Am Fam Physician. 2017;95(7):433-41.Celik E, Nelles C, Kottlors J, et al.Quantitative determination of pulmonary emphysema in follow-up LD-CTs of patients with COVID-19 infection.Barac A, ed. PLoS ONE. 2022;17(2):e0263261. doi:10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0263261Dziankowska-Zaborszczyk E, Bryla M, Ciabiada-Bryla B, Maniecka-Bryla I.Standard expected years of life lost (Seyll) due to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (Copd) in Poland from 1999 to 2014.PLoS ONE. 2019;14(3):e0213581. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0213581Additional ReadingAmerican Lung Association.Trends in COPD (Chronic Bronchitis and Emphysema): Morbidity and Mortality.Oh, D, Kim, Y, and Y Oh.Lung Regeneration Therapy for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.Tuberculosis and Respiratory Disease. 2017;80(1):1-10. doi:10.4046/trd.2017.80.1.1Rzadkiewicz M, Bråtas O, Espnes GA.What else should we know about experiencing COPD? A narrative review in search of patients' psychological burden alleviation. Int J Chron Obstruct Pulmon Dis. 2016;11:2295-2304. doi:10.2147/COPD.S109700van Agteren JE, Carson KV, Tiong LU, Smith BJ.Lung volume reduction surgery for diffuse emphysema. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2016;10(10):CD001001. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD001001.pub3
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.
National Emphysema Foundation.COPD and Emphysema Afflict Millions of Adults and Children Today.American Lung Association.Learn About COPD.Harvard Medical School.Emphysema.Zulueta JJ.Emphysema and Lung Cancer. More Than a Coincidence. Ann Am Thorac Soc. 2015;12(8):1120-1. doi:10.1513/AnnalsATS.201506-360ED+Raviv, S., Hawkins, K., DeCamp, M. and Kalhan, R.Lung Cancer in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.2010;183(9):1138-1146. doi:10.1164/rccm.201008-1274CIAmerican Lung Association.What Causes COPD.Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung.Pocket Guide to COPD Diagnosis, Management, and Prevention.Brode SK, Ling SC, Chapman KR.Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency: a commonly overlooked cause of lung disease.CMAJ. 2012;184(12):1365-71. doi:10.1503/cmaj.111749Gentry S & Gentry B.Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.Am Fam Physician. 2017;95(7):433-41.Celik E, Nelles C, Kottlors J, et al.Quantitative determination of pulmonary emphysema in follow-up LD-CTs of patients with COVID-19 infection.Barac A, ed. PLoS ONE. 2022;17(2):e0263261. doi:10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0263261Dziankowska-Zaborszczyk E, Bryla M, Ciabiada-Bryla B, Maniecka-Bryla I.Standard expected years of life lost (Seyll) due to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (Copd) in Poland from 1999 to 2014.PLoS ONE. 2019;14(3):e0213581. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0213581
National Emphysema Foundation.COPD and Emphysema Afflict Millions of Adults and Children Today.
American Lung Association.Learn About COPD.
Harvard Medical School.Emphysema.
Zulueta JJ.Emphysema and Lung Cancer. More Than a Coincidence. Ann Am Thorac Soc. 2015;12(8):1120-1. doi:10.1513/AnnalsATS.201506-360ED+
Raviv, S., Hawkins, K., DeCamp, M. and Kalhan, R.Lung Cancer in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.2010;183(9):1138-1146. doi:10.1164/rccm.201008-1274CI
American Lung Association.What Causes COPD.
Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung.Pocket Guide to COPD Diagnosis, Management, and Prevention.
Brode SK, Ling SC, Chapman KR.Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency: a commonly overlooked cause of lung disease.CMAJ. 2012;184(12):1365-71. doi:10.1503/cmaj.111749
Gentry S & Gentry B.Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.Am Fam Physician. 2017;95(7):433-41.
Celik E, Nelles C, Kottlors J, et al.Quantitative determination of pulmonary emphysema in follow-up LD-CTs of patients with COVID-19 infection.Barac A, ed. PLoS ONE. 2022;17(2):e0263261. doi:10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0263261
Dziankowska-Zaborszczyk E, Bryla M, Ciabiada-Bryla B, Maniecka-Bryla I.Standard expected years of life lost (Seyll) due to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (Copd) in Poland from 1999 to 2014.PLoS ONE. 2019;14(3):e0213581. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0213581
American Lung Association.Trends in COPD (Chronic Bronchitis and Emphysema): Morbidity and Mortality.Oh, D, Kim, Y, and Y Oh.Lung Regeneration Therapy for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.Tuberculosis and Respiratory Disease. 2017;80(1):1-10. doi:10.4046/trd.2017.80.1.1Rzadkiewicz M, Bråtas O, Espnes GA.What else should we know about experiencing COPD? A narrative review in search of patients' psychological burden alleviation. Int J Chron Obstruct Pulmon Dis. 2016;11:2295-2304. doi:10.2147/COPD.S109700van Agteren JE, Carson KV, Tiong LU, Smith BJ.Lung volume reduction surgery for diffuse emphysema. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2016;10(10):CD001001. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD001001.pub3
American Lung Association.Trends in COPD (Chronic Bronchitis and Emphysema): Morbidity and Mortality.
Oh, D, Kim, Y, and Y Oh.Lung Regeneration Therapy for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.Tuberculosis and Respiratory Disease. 2017;80(1):1-10. doi:10.4046/trd.2017.80.1.1
Rzadkiewicz M, Bråtas O, Espnes GA.What else should we know about experiencing COPD? A narrative review in search of patients' psychological burden alleviation. Int J Chron Obstruct Pulmon Dis. 2016;11:2295-2304. doi:10.2147/COPD.S109700
van Agteren JE, Carson KV, Tiong LU, Smith BJ.Lung volume reduction surgery for diffuse emphysema. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2016;10(10):CD001001. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD001001.pub3
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