1. Get a Physical and Provide Your Medical History
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD, is a disease of the lungs. A diagnosis is made in part through a physical exam and medical history. Your doctor will ask if you have risk factors such as being a smoker. Symptoms will be evaluated such as shortness of breath, fatigue and excess sputum production. Your doctor will evaluate lung sounds and listen for wheezing or decreased breath sounds.
2. Measure Your Breath
Your doctor will likely order a pulmonary function test. The test involves breathing in and out with varying force and at varying speeds. The test can measure the amount of air you can get in and get out of your lungs. After one test, you might use an inhaler and then repeat the test to determine if the medication improved your breathing. The doctor will compare your scores with the predicted values for a person your age and height. The results of the test can aid in a COPD diagnosis.
3. Got Oxygen?
Some people with COPD have trouble getting oxygen into their lungs and to their vital organs. Because of this, their oxygen levels may be lower than normal. A simple test to determine the oxygen level in your blood is a pulse oximeter reading. A device is placed on one finger, where a sensor reads your oxygen level.
4. X-Rays May Help Diagnose COPD
A chest X-ray will most likely be one of the first tests ordered by your doctor to help diagnose COPD. It's easy to perform and not invasive. A chest X-ray can rule out other conditions that may have similar symptoms. It can also spot changes in the chest and the lungs that indicate a COPD diagnosis. Changes may include overinflation of the lungs. Your doctor may also want to perform a CT scan to get a more detailed picture of the lungs.
5. Gases in the Blood
Your doctor may request a blood test called an arterial blood gas to determine the levels of oxygen and carbon dioxide in your blood. Carbon dioxide sometimes builds up in people with COPD because they have trouble exhaling it completely from their lungs. The blood test is done by taking a sample from an artery, usually in your wrist. The test is more accurate than a reading from a pulse oximeter. It also provides other values such as the pH of your blood.
