Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease & Women's Health - National Women's Health Resource Center/Healthywomen.org

How to find out if you have it (Diagnosis)

It is important to identify COPD early.
Why? Because, once it is diagnosed, you can begin treatment. There is no current treatment that will reverse the damage. But, there are steps you can take to help you breathe better.

You can do certain exercises.

You can improve your nutrition.

And there are also several treatments. These include medications that can help you breathe.

When COPD is found, many quit smoking.
Studies find that people are much more likely to quit smoking if they learn that they have the disease. That's good because quitting smoking is the number one way to prevent additional damage from COPD. If you smoke or have smoked, it's important to talk to your doctor about getting tested for COPD.

Spirometry: A simple test can help find out if you have COPD.
The most commonly used method used to find out if you have this lung problem is a procedure called spirometry. It is simple and painless. And it can be done right in a doctor's office.

Spirometry: Here's what's involved:

You begin by taking a test at a health care professional's office.

First, you forcibly exhale into an instrument called a spirometer.

The spirometer will measure the air you breathe out. By doing so, it also shows how much air you were able to take in, without any help.

Then, your doctor will use the results to see how well your lungs are working.

A doctor makes a diagnosis, based on your scores.

The test gives certain specific scores.
- The FVC (Forced Vital Capacity): This is a measure of the total amount of air you exhaled.
- The FEV₁ (Forced Expiratory Volume in one second): This is a measure of the amount of air you exhaled in the first second.
Your scores help your doctor determine what stage of COPD you have:
- It may be in the mild stage.
- It may be in the moderate stage.
- It may be in the severe stage.
- Or, it may be in the very severe stage.

A doctor can, then, plan treatment, based on your stage.
Finding out what stage you have will help your doctor plan the right treatment for you.

One problem: Many doctors cannot test you for COPD.
Few primary care physicians perform the spirometer test in their offices. Many don't even own the device required for the test. And without this, or similar lung-function tests, they are not likely to try to find out if COPD is a problem for you. This is particularly true for patients who are women.

This resource is part of an educational initiative sponsored by
Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals Inc., and Pfizer Inc.

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