possibly misdiagnosed?

[greenr]

I am 43yrs. old and have smoked for 20 yrs.. After a few days of attempting to quit smoking , I find out that the results of my chest x-ray suggest copd due to hyper-expansion of my lungs. Could this possibly be misdiagnosed? - I was told to take a deep breath and hold it. Also, two years prior, I had a cat scan of my lungs that showed everything to be normal. - I plan to quit smoking regardless.

Thanks,

Concerned

[National Jewish Health]

It is true that hyperinflation may be a sign of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD); at times an early sign.  But it is definitely not diagnostic of COPD.

It is also true that a 43 year old man might well have COPD after 20 years of smoking.  However, assuming that yours was a high resolution CT scan 2 years ago emphysema, if present, would have been apparent.  That it was not, precludes you having clinically significant COPD at this time.  The best way to confirm this would be for you to have pulmonary function tests (PFTs) performed.

You should then discuss the results with your doctor.

Good luck and, especially so with your smoking cessation attempt.