What COPDers need to know about PFTs
The following was originally published at healthcentral.com/copd on May 13, 2015 Breaking Down a Pulmonary Function Test (PFT) Pulmonary Function Testing (PFT) is a standard test that can help diagnose chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The results may also determine how severe your disease is, and how well treatment is working. A main part of the testing involves placing your mouth over a mouthpiece, blocking your nose with clamps, inhaling as deeply as you can, and forcibly exhaling as long and hard as you can until no more breath comes out. These results are recorded. FVC . Forced Vital Capacity. Total amount of air you can exhale after deep inhalation. TLC . Total Lung Capacity. How much air remains in your lungs after you completely exhale. RV . Residual Volume. Air that remains inside your lungs even after the most forcible exhalation. Some air stays inside to keep your lungs open. FEV1 . Forced Expiratory Volume at the one second mark of FVC. FEV1/ FVC . Express...