Life expectancy of untreated emphysema

[pontoon]

My father (61 years old) was diagnosed with emphysema about 4 years ago.  He's a heavy smoker and mostly inactive.  He doesn't eat well and he drinks alcohol every day.  He WILL NOT receive treatment or medical care for his condition and has no intention of quitting smoking.  Under these circumstances, what can I expect in terms of his physical deterioration and life expectancy?

[National Jewish]

Emphysema is a chronic lung disease linked with cigarette smoking and worsened by contact with industrial dusts and other toxins.  This is also called chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).  It is a disease that worsens over time.  There is relatively irreversible obstruction of airflow and actual destruction of the airsacs in the lung.  Normally the airsacs of the lung look like a bunch of grapes.  Emphysema causes destruction of the walls between the airsacs.  Over time these individual airsacs become one large airsac called a bullae.  When this happens there is less surface area for oxygen to get from the lungs into the blood and for carbon dioxide to get from the blood into the lungs to be exhaled.  When a person’s lungs reach the point where they cannot provide the body with enough oxygen to keep the blood level above 90%, the workload on the heart is increased and over time the heart will get large and work less efficiently.  Once the heart is enlarged this cannot be reversed.  Using supplemental oxygen will help to lighten the workload on the heart so it doesn’t get large.  A common complaint with emphysema is shortness of breath.

Life expectancy with emphysema varies from case to case.  There is no average.  However there are 3 things that shorten life expectancy.  A forced expiratory volume in the first second (FEV1) of exhaling that is less than 1 liter per minute.  This is the amount of air that a person can forcefully blow out in the first second of exhaling, which is measured as part of a simple breathing test called spirometry.  Severe bouts with emphysema that occur frequently can shorten life expectancy.  Smoking causes emphysema to progress 3 times faster.  This means the FEV1 drops 3 times faster in smokers than in non-smokers.  So the most important thing that your father can do to help himself is to quit smoking.  It is not possible to say that this will stop the emphysema from effecting more of his lung, but it will slow down the rate of progression.

[starion]

I think you already know that of course he wouldn't live as long as he continues with all his habits which worsen his health as he would if he made some health-promotying changes:  exercising, eating properly, quitting drinking & smoking.

None of us holds a crystal ball, but emphysema DOES progress more rapidly in folks who continue to smoke, particularly those who smoke heavily.  Of course, there are nasty side effects from drinking and inactivity as well.

Good luck to you & your dad--let him know you love him and would like him to consider changes so he can be in your life for longer.
Aloha,
Starion

[hopenlove]

A related discussion, teens with emphysema was started.

[sorcfm]

A related discussion, life expectancy was started.