Pulmonary Function Testing in Salinas

Learn More About Your Lung Health

Have you been having trouble breathing or suffer from long bouts of coughing? A pulmonary function test can help you and your doctor learn more about what’s happening in your lungs. These safe health assessments allow doctors to diagnose or rule out various lung conditions and disorders that could have otherwise gone undetected. Once you know what’s causing your breathing issues, your doctor can prescribe treatments to help you find relief.

Measuring Your Lung Capacity

During a pulmonary function test, you will sit down and breathe into a mouthpiece that is hooked up to a spirometer. The spirometer measures how much care your lungs release and how fast they can release it. The results from this test help doctors determine what, if anything, is obstructing the airflow in your lungs.

Pulmonary function tests are often used to diagnose:

• Asthma
• Bronchitis
• Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (emphysema)
• Sarcoidosis
• Scleroderma
• Pulmonary fibrosis
• Lung cancer

Additionally, performing this test allows doctors to measure your lung volume, which is used to detect restrictive lung diseases. When you are unable to inhale a normal volume of air, it could mean an inflammation or scarring of the lung tissue has impacted your ability to breathe. This is something that needs to be diagnosed and treated as soon as possible. We also perform a diffusion capacity test to estimate how efficiently the lungs transfer oxygen into the bloodstream.

Don’t Wait to Diagnose Lung Conditions

Like most medical conditions, the sooner you diagnose a lung disease or disorder, the better your chances of treating it. Your blood needs oxygen in order to properly nourish your body. When this ability is hindered, even slightly, for a long period of time it can have a serious, even life-threatening, impact on your health. Our knowledgeable pulmonary team carefully analyzes results from pulmonary lung tests so they can quickly diagnose conditions and get you the treatment you need as quickly as possible.