By: Jessica S., Forster A., and Zach D.

DefinitionA long term, progressive disease of the lungs that primarily causes shortness of breath. In people with emphysema, the tissues necessary to support the physical shape and function of the lungs are destroyed. It is often caused by smoking.

It is believed that, Frederick Ruysch, a Dutch anatomist and botanist discovered large air spaces in human lung in the year 1721. He termed it Emphysema. Emphysema in Greek means to blow into.

History of Emphysema

•Shortness of breath•Wheezing•Chest tightness•Reduced capacity for physical activity•Chronic coughing, which could also indicate chronic bronchitis•Loss of appetite and weight•Fatigue

Symptoms

•You tire quickly, or you cant easily do the things you used to do•You can’t breath well enough to tolerate even moderate exercise•Your breathing difficulty worsens when you have a cold •Your lips or fingernails are blue or gray, indicating low oxygen in your blood •You frequently cough up yellow or greenish sputum •You note that bending over to tie your shoes makes you short of breath

•You are losing weight

When To See a Doctor

Most emphysema is caused by smoking, but a small number of cases is caused by an inherited defect.

Genetic or Hereditary

Treatments and MedicineBronchodilator medicines - relaxes muscles around

your airway (only if you have airway constrictions)Anti-inflammatory - soothes and heals the outer

lining layer of air passages and this makes them more resistant to obstruction

Oxygen therapy - supply oxygen that can help the patient whose lung function is severely impaired

Lung reduction surgery - Surgeons cut out the destroyed lung and let the good lung expand. This is achieved by a type of surgery called laparoscopy.Transplant surgery - much more invasive than lung reduction surgery and only available to a small group of patients. They go in and take out the old bad lung and put in a new lung.

How Diet Affects EmphysemaFood gives you energy and patients that have

emphysema need extra energy just to breatheVitamins and nutrients you get from food

helps maintain healthy lung functionYou should limit salt intake so that fluid

retention does not happenDon’t take in much caffeine because caffeine

affects medicationEat many meals a day because a full stomach makes breathing harder

How Exercise Affects EmphysemaExercise is very hard for people with

emphysema, because excercising requires lots of energy which people get from breathing. suffers of emphysema have trouble getting air, and because of that have trouble excercising

Walking is the best Do inspiratory muscle trainingThis originally very hard, but itstrengthens breathing musclesImproves breathing and quality of life

How Family Affects Emphysema Family mainly just helps you push through

the tough times They can do this by

Looking out for you Making sure you don’t get an “attack” Taking you to programs Making sure you use your inhaler Taking you to classes Making sure you eat well Making sure you don’t over-exercise

•Short term treatment for emphysema includes:a)Eating wellb)Not smokingc)Not inhaling second hand smoked)Getting treatment from a trusted doctor

•A way to prevent this disease long term is lung transplant. This is for people with the most advanced disease, transplantation of either one or both lungs can produce a near-cure. Transplantation brings with it another set of risks and benefits. People who undergo transplantation, however, will have to take medicines to prevent the rejection of the transplant by the body. Also, not everyone qualifies for transplantation, and those who do are limited by the short supply of available organs.

•A victim of Emphysema will suffer with shortness of breath and it will be a life time problem•This will lead to a family not being able to participate in activities with the victim

•Family will be affected because the victim will continuously cough•It will be tough having a victim of this disease in the family

•2 out of 1,000 people suffer from emphysema.•Males with emphysema outnumber females by 64%•Emphysema ranks 9th among chronic conditions that contribute to the lack of activity.

WOW Facts2 million people suffer from emphysema

according to recent statisticsIt is believed that women are protected from

this disease due to certain hormones You can’t reverse emphysemaIt can start at ages as young as 4 or 5

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