Chest X ray Results

[lga124]

My x-ray findings: "The heart sixe and pulmonary vasculature are within the normal range. No active infiltrates or effusions are identified. Some probaable mild emphysematous changes/changes of COPD are present".

Impression: Mild emphysematous changes/changes of COPD

I currently smoke a pack of cigarettes a day- have been for 27 years now. How concerned should I be? Should I stop smoking soon? Will this emphysema progress?

Thanks- LGA

[National Jewish Health]

Yes, you should be concerned that there are signs of emphysema, albeit their being described as mild.  That they can be seen at all is the important thing, as this serves as an indicator that your lungs are vulnerable to the toxic effects of cigarette smoke.  Should you continue smoking the emphysema will progress, without abating.  Once the process starts, it continues, sometimes at an increasingly rapid rate, as long as you smoke.  Emphysema is pathologically the destruction of lung.  That means that once the lung is gone, it really is gone.  Should you stop smoking, the emphysema may progress for an indefinite period of time, say for a couple years at which time progression will cease.  At that point, the remaining lung will be preserved.  The sooner you quit smoking, the more lung power you will preserve for the years ahead.

You should discuss this with your doctor and ask him/her to have you do spirometry, a simple breathing test.  If the results are normal or only slightly reduced you should interpret this as good luck and not a sign that you can afford to continue smoking.

[karenchi]

yes you need to stop smoking ASAP.. easier said than done. i know. i also have COPD.  start walking just small amounts. lose weight if needed. this all helps. i work in dr office trust me. i see alot of it. and you don't want to be carrying an O2 tank on your back. not very becoming.