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abnormal PFT results

I have been having shortness of breath for about 3 months now. I went today and took a pulmonary function test. The results came back abnormal.  It suprisingly shocked my doctor because I'm a 25 yr old, active female.  I had a chest x-ray done last month and it showed some sort of calcified mass in the center of my chest. A c/t scan showed non-cancerous.  I don't have a cough, but I have been running a fever lately.  I have heart palpatations and extreme fatigue.  My doc. is sending me to a pulmonary specialist.  My question is, what could this be??? What does an abnormal pulmonary function test show?? Like I said, I have no cough, wheezing, mucus, etc.  What's going on????
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242588 tn?1224271700
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Pulmonary function tests (PFTs) can be abnormal in a number of ways.  The test should be interpreted by a lung specialist who, with knowledge of the type of abnormality, may be able to suggest the diagnostic possibilities.  Whether or not the calcified mass is significant depends, in part, on its size.  But, unless it is quite large, it is a common finding and would not be the cause of the allegedly abnormal PFTs.

Shortness of breath is almost always related to malfunction of the heart or lungs.  Documented chronic fever is evidence of some abnormal process that could be infectious, or non-infectious/inflammatory.

Assuming that your chest x-ray, with the exception of the calcified mass, was deemed to be normal and/or the pulmonary function abnormality is not severe enough to account for your shortness of breath another diagnosis should be considered in a 25 year old woman, especially if on birth-control pills, and that is recurrent pulmonary embolism, also called clots to the lung.

The pulmonary specialist should be able to sort this out for you but this may require further testing of both your heart and your lungs.

Good luck.
Helpful - 1
Avatar universal
Thank you very much for your response.  The mass, according to my family doctor, is large in size.  I've had numerous EKG's which have all came back normal.  I've had an echocardiogram which showed mild mitral valve prolapse, but other than that, it was normal.  
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