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Respiratory Disorders  (Expert Forum)
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PFT Results
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PFT Results

by meamoron2, May 24, 2009 07:55PM
I'm 49 year old female.  Exercise daily though short of breath frequently. 20 pounds overweight.  3-vessel CAD including 45% blockage of LMA (Cardiac Cath in July 2008).  Reversible Ischemia.  Never Smoked.  Don't have Pulminary Doctor and not getting clear picture from Internal Medicine Doctor.  Diagnosed with Exercise Induced Asthma as teenager though haven't had asthma attack in decades.  
Following are my PFT results.  some numbers seem far from normal.  Do I need to worry about these numbers; what are they indicative of?  THANK YOU

                % of Predicted
FVC                112
FEV1               104
FEV1/FVC         94
FEF25-75%        81
FEF25%           102
FEF50%            77
FEF75%            68
FEFmax           130
TET                                         6.48 (reported)

TLC                    117
VC                     106
IC                       109
ERV                     94
VTG                                         3.59(reported)
FRC                    124
RV                      138
RV/TLC               120
RAW                                         1.92(reported)
Sgaw                                         0.14(reported)

DSB                     143
DSBHb                  143
VAsb                      98
D/VAsb                  146
D/VAsbHb              146
Vlnsp                                         3.10(reported)

by National Jewish Health, May 28, 2009 04:13PM
To: meamoron2
Your symptoms may well be on the basis of Exercise Induced Asthma (EIA), that for some individuals, is the only expression of asthma.  Thus you could have EIA, with  relatively normal PFT’s at rest.  These PFT values are within normal limits for the most part.  The RV is elevated at 138% and that could be caused by asthma.  The air flow rates are normal and the diffusion study results are above predicted normal values and, higher than predicted diffusion test values are commonly seen with asthma.

You should probably have an Echocardiogram to rule out heart disease as a cause of your shortness of breath, unless your LV ejection fraction and pulmonary arterial pressure were normal at the time of the Cardiac Cath in July and, at that time, you were already experiencing shortness of breath with exertion.  If your shortness of breath began after the cardiac cath, then that is a different story, and the cath data would not exclude heart disease as a cause of your current shortness of breath.

You should have an EIA study performed, preferably on a treadmill, rather than a bicycle.  If, by chance you have a peak flow meter (PFM), or your doctor can provide one, you could do a crude self-test comparing your resting PF with your post exercise PF at a time when you are still short of breath.

Good luck
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