COPD–Your Medical History

Your doctor first evaluates your lungs to diagnose your condition. They will take your medical history, do a physical exam and other tests to be done. Once a diagnosis has been made, a treatment plan will be developed to control your symptoms and help you feel better. You will be monitored on your treatment plan and changes will be made as needed.

To diagnose your condition, your doctor need to know the truth about your lifestyle, your family's medical history and your symptoms. You will be asked questions like:

Do you smoke?

Have you been exposed to pollutants or dusts?

Is there a family history of lung disease?

Do you have shortness of breath, coughing, wheezing, excess mucus, chest discomfort, swollen ankles?

COPD–Your Physical Exam

Your doctor will give you a complete physical exam. It will include listening to your heart and lungs, examining your nose and throat and ordering tests, which include blood tests, a chest x-ray, and an EKG to rule out heart disease as the cause of your shortness of breath.

Pulmonary Function Tests
Your doctor will also order one or more pulmonary function tests. These tests measure how much air you can take into your lungs and how fast you can blow air out (spirometry), how much air you exhale and how much air is left in your lungs after you exhale (lung volumes), and how much oxygen is transported from your lungs to your blood (lung diffusion). These tests are done in the doctors office or the hospital lab. You may be tested before and after taking medicine, and these tests may become a part of your treatment plan.

Other tests
Your doctor may also order other tests to help diagnose lung disease including pulse oximetry to measure the level of oxygen in your blood at rest and after exercise, a blood gas test to measure the amounts of oxygen and carbon dioxide in your blood, an exercise treadmill test to see how well your heart and lungs work under stress and a CT (computed tomography) scan to reveal the condition of your lungs.