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Should I Get Tested for COPD?

You should get tested for COPD if the following applies to you.

• Are you a current or former smoker?
• Are you over the age of 45 with symptoms of COPD?

If you answered “yes” to either of these questions, you should ask your doctor for a lung test.

The Test

Getting tested for COPD is very easy. A trained medical expert will ask you to sit down on a chair next to a machine called a spirometer (spy-ro-met-er). That person will ask you to blow as fast and as hard as you can into a tube. The machine will record two numbers: your FVC and FEV1. The FVC is very most amount of air you can breathe in one breath. The FEV1 is the amount of air you blew in the first second of the test.

The numbers the machine records will show how well your lungs are working. You may also be asked to take some medicine before the test. This is to see how your lungs work with and without the medicine.


Visit Our Mobile Spirometry Unit (MSU)

The Mobile Spirometry Unit (MSU) has been designed to provide free lung testing by respiratory therapists.  People getting tested include those with symptoms and those at-risk for COPD.

The MSU travels to health expos, senior fairs, state and county fairs, and other events across the nation.  The MSU not only offers free testing, but also gives out a number of free brochures to those who attend.

A lung test records the total air flow, lung volume, as well as other tests that will help the person know how their lungs are working.

At the MSU booth, viewers can take brochures both on COPD and on how to talk to their doctor about further testing.  Viewers can win a prize, by giving correct answers to COPD questions.

Click below to see if the MSU will be in a town near you.