Shortness of breath is one of the main complaints that sends people to the doctor's office. One of the tools used to help diagnose the cause of breathlessness is called a spirometer. This is a kind of pulmonary function monitor (PFM) and measures the volume of air inspired and expired through the lungs. The printed output from the device is a graph, and this can indicate whether the breathing dysfunction is restrictive or obstructive. Spirometers are constructed differently to enable different strategies for measuring the movement of air (pressure transducers, ultrasound, water gauge).
Lung function tests are utilized to eliminate the presence of serious pulmonary conditions such as asthma, emphysema and bronchitis. They are also performed to assess the influence on the lungs of medications or ambient contaminants, to help determine the cause of breathlessness and to evaluate the progress of treatments. Lung function tests are also performed before surgery on the lungs to take benchmark measurements of lung activity.
It was Claudius Galen, noted Roman physician, who devised the first PFM and conducted the first lung function tests. This took place in the late first or early second century AD. Later instruments were based on a bell jar turned upside down in water. Modern variants include the whole body plethysmograph, peak flow meter and the pneumotachometer.
The vast majority of lung conditions are not serious and are easily treatable. It is important first to rule out a serious condition underlying the breathlessness. According to the Mayo Clinic in Arizona, Florida and Minnesota, shortness of breath is defined as an intense feeling of chest tightness accompanied by a feeling of suffocation. This can occur in a single instance or it may have a more chronic pattern.
There half a dozen or so red flag symptoms which, in conjunction with shortness of breath, may point to a serious problem. These red flags include being pale or tired all the time, a chronic cough or wheeze, swollen ankles, difficulty breathing when lying flat, a pain that worsens with exercise, a history of working around asbestos, industrial fumes, wood dust, or in a coal mine and any other persistent or unusual symptoms. If you experience any of the above, then you should consult your 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 serious causes of breathlessness have been eliminated from the differential diagnosis, many cases can be traced to one of two simple and easily remedied causes, either trigger points, also known as muscle knots, or dysfunctional respiratory habits and weak muscles. The treatment for both is safe, cost-free and easily performed by the patient. It involves a program of exercise and trigger point massage.
Invented shortly after Christ walked the Earth, the spirometer is a handy tool for diagnosing the cause of shortness of breath. It can determine the presence of abnormal ventilation, but further tests are often required to eliminate from consideration conditions like asthma, emphysema and bronchitis, among others. Most cases of breathlessness stem from an easily treatable condition, either trigger points, dysfunctional breathing patterns or a combination of the two.
Lung function tests are utilized to eliminate the presence of serious pulmonary conditions such as asthma, emphysema and bronchitis. They are also performed to assess the influence on the lungs of medications or ambient contaminants, to help determine the cause of breathlessness and to evaluate the progress of treatments. Lung function tests are also performed before surgery on the lungs to take benchmark measurements of lung activity.
It was Claudius Galen, noted Roman physician, who devised the first PFM and conducted the first lung function tests. This took place in the late first or early second century AD. Later instruments were based on a bell jar turned upside down in water. Modern variants include the whole body plethysmograph, peak flow meter and the pneumotachometer.
The vast majority of lung conditions are not serious and are easily treatable. It is important first to rule out a serious condition underlying the breathlessness. According to the Mayo Clinic in Arizona, Florida and Minnesota, shortness of breath is defined as an intense feeling of chest tightness accompanied by a feeling of suffocation. This can occur in a single instance or it may have a more chronic pattern.
There half a dozen or so red flag symptoms which, in conjunction with shortness of breath, may point to a serious problem. These red flags include being pale or tired all the time, a chronic cough or wheeze, swollen ankles, difficulty breathing when lying flat, a pain that worsens with exercise, a history of working around asbestos, industrial fumes, wood dust, or in a coal mine and any other persistent or unusual symptoms. If you experience any of the above, then you should consult your 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 serious causes of breathlessness have been eliminated from the differential diagnosis, many cases can be traced to one of two simple and easily remedied causes, either trigger points, also known as muscle knots, or dysfunctional respiratory habits and weak muscles. The treatment for both is safe, cost-free and easily performed by the patient. It involves a program of exercise and trigger point massage.
Invented shortly after Christ walked the Earth, the spirometer is a handy tool for diagnosing the cause of shortness of breath. It can determine the presence of abnormal ventilation, but further tests are often required to eliminate from consideration conditions like asthma, emphysema and bronchitis, among others. Most cases of breathlessness stem from an easily treatable condition, either trigger points, dysfunctional breathing patterns or a combination of the two.
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