Guide to Emphysema

Emphysema is a chronic lung disease that causes breathing difficulties. The most common cause of emphysema is smoking.

Emphysema is the main type of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Despite the fact that it is impossible to cure emphysema, quitting smoking slows the progression of the disease.

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Emphysema is the result of damage to alveolar sacs, usually due to exposure to cigarette smoke. Over time, air cavities form in the lungs, in which air accumulates. The lungs slowly increase, and breathing takes a lot of effort. This is called airflow limitation.

This is one of the most common chronic lung diseases. Characterized by a violation of normal gas exchange and difficulty in the process of breathing. Doctors-pulmonologists note with alarm that emphysema of the lungs occurs more often - especially the risk of developing this disease in patients older than 55 years.

To the reasons for the development of emphysema, bronchitis in the chronic course is first and foremost . In the overwhelming majority of cases, this form of the disease develops in persons of able-bodied age - from 30 to 60 years old; while in men this happens almost three times more often than in women. Over time, bronchitis with a high degree of probability can lead to the appearance of such a complication, as emphysema of the lungs.

Other factors that provoke a patient's development of this disease:

• smoking;


• living or staying for a long time in a region with an unfavorable ecological situation;


• employment in enterprises that specialize in the extraction and processing of coal, asbestos, silicon, etc. The inhalation of the smallest particles of these minerals is very harmful to the organism in general and to the health of the lungs in particular;


• presence in the patient's anamnesis of tuberculosis and other lung-infectious diseases;


• adverse heredity - if someone from close relatives of the patient has been identified with bullous emphysema, he is also at risk;


• In addition, in some cases, provoking severe respiratory failure, emphysema can develop in the absence of previous pathologies of the respiratory system. In this case, the patient is diagnosed with "Primary emphysema".

HOW IS DEVELOPMENT OF EMPHYSEMA?

The continuous inflammatory process for a long time provokes irreversible changes in the bronchial wall. The respiratory tract narrowed, their conduction worsens. At the same time, the constituent lung tissue loses its elasticity. Even after the patient makes a full exhalation, there remains in them an excess of air volume. The lungs overstretch, the gas exchange in the blood deteriorates. Reducing the efficiency of removing carbon dioxide from the body of a patient provokes the development of shortness of breath.

Stretched tissue of the bronchi and lungs, which is no longer capable of performing its functions, is gradually replaced by a connective. This leads to an irreversible narrowing of the bronchi. Pathological changes in lung tissue are air bags of different diameters, which can be single or scattered throughout the surface of the lungs.

SYMPTOMS OF EMPHYSEMA

The development of this pathology in a patient may be indicated by the presence of the following symptoms:

• shortness of breath, which in especially neglected cases does not disappear even at rest. In the beginning, it appears only in the cold season at the time of physical activity. For patients suffering from dyspnea, a short inhalation with effort and a long exhalation is characteristic. When breathing, they can inflate their cheeks;


• marked pallor of the skin. Moreover, the tongue, lips and nail plates of the patient may have a bluish tinge;


• over time, the chest of the patient with emphysema of the lungs expands and becomes barrel-shaped, and the amplitude of her movements during breathing, on the contrary, decreases;


• intercostal spaces and the area above the patient's collarbones can expand and even bulge.

In the absence of treatment, emphysema can trigger the development of severe, threatening, and even life-threatening conditions in the patient. These can be pneumothorax , respiratory and heart failure , etc.

Smoking is the main cause of emphysema

The cause of emphysema in a large number of people is smoking. The exact process of destruction of the alveolar sacs is not known, however, studies show that smokers are six times more susceptible to the disease. Emphysema and chronic bronchitis are the fourth leading cause of death.

Deficiency of antitrypsin alpha 1

In addition to smoking, the other main known cause of emphysema is a deficit of antitrypsin alpha 1. However, this is a minor cause of the disease, compared to smoking.

Antitrypsin alpha 1 is a natural protein that circulates in the blood. Its main function is to prevent damage to normal tissues by leukocytes. Leukocytes contain destructive substances that they use to fight infections.

Up to 100,000 people have a genetic predisposition to antitrypsin-alpha deficiency1. A deficient level of protein in the blood allows normal leukocytes to continuously damage lung tissue. Within a certain time, most people with severe AA1 deficiency develop emphysema.

Passive smoking as a potential cause of emphysema

Passive smoking can also contribute to the emergence of emphysema, because, according to studies, it damages the lungs. Air pollution, also, according to some studies, promotes the development of emphysema.