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Emphysema symptoms are markers of respiratory ailments that can happen several times a day or just a couple of times a month. The symptoms of emphysema, a chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), can sometimes be taken for granted but can actually be serious and life-threatening.

Understanding of Emphysema

Emphysema is a respiratory problem where in the alveoli (air sacs) of the lungs deteriorates because of over inflation, therefore leads to reduced lung capacity and dyspnea (difficulty of breathing). In the United States, 3.7 million citizens are reported to have emphysema. Emhpysema is widespread to people at ages 45 and above.

Shortness of breath, one of the major emphysema symptoms, is often brought on by cigarette smoking. The probability of acquiring emphysema is greater for long term tobacco users. Emphysema cases that involve people who don’t smoke cigarettes are unusual however it could actually occur because of alpha-1 intitrypsin deficiency, a protein that protects the lung tissue that is synthesized by the liver. Still, exposure to air pollution, secondhand smoke, chemical fumes and dust can promote development of emphysema for nonsmokers.