Emphysema Essay

Emphysema, also referred to as pulmonary emphysema, is a degenerative, nonreversible disease. It is characterized by an enlargement of the airways beyond the terminal bronchioles. This airway enlargement can be due to a myriad of causes. Emphysema is commonly referred to as COPD; however, emphysema is only one type of COPD. Chronic bronchitis is the other. In cases of COPD, emphysema and chronic bronchitis typically accompany one another, but emphysema can also occur by itself. There are two types of emphysema: panacinar and centriacinar, each affecting different areas of the lungs. A patient can have both types of emphysema concurrently. In either type of emphysema, there are similar signs and symptoms. Dyspnea on exertion is the key symptom noted with this disease. However, as the emphysema progresses, the patient may begin to experience dyspnea even at rest. Emphysema patients are usually thin from increased energy requirements from labored breathing. If a patient is exhibiting these symptoms and has not been diagnosed with COPD, a pulmonary function test may be done
Right-sided heart failure, or cor pulmonale, is likely to develop in emphysema patients. This is caused by the extra strain on the right ventricle from trying to pump blood into lungs that have high pressures, or pulmonary hypertension (“COPD and heart failure: Symptoms, causes, treatment, and more,” 2005). Respiratory failure is another lethal complication. The patient experiences hypoventilation and a ventilation-perfusion mismatch because of the dyspnea. When experiencing hypoventilation, a patient’s arterial blood gasses should be taken to assess for respiratory acidosis. However, unless the emphysema is very advanced, the ABG’s are likely to be within normal range. These complications are most likely to occur if the patient does not stop smoking, they are exposed to air pollution, get an infection, have a PE, or even have an