With COPD, the problem is exhaling. We don't exhale enough to get the CO2 out and make room for O2. That's why we get sob. that's why pursed lip breathing works. We all will inhale no matter what, but we need to exhale as much as possible, Not exhaling enough is problem, not inhaling. Go to this website and watch the videos in COPD 101. You'll learn how COPD works and why exhaling is the problem.

http://www.copdfoundation.org/Learn-More/For-Pa...

PFT is made up of several different breathing tests. The FEV1 is what many of us focus on. That's the amount of air you can blow out in the first second of expiration: FEV1. It's measured in liters. We know how much a person of your height, weight, sex , age and ethnicity should blow out, and what you actually blew is compared to that resulting in a percentage. So if your FEV1 is 32%, we usually refer to that as your "lung function". Your lungs are working at 32% of normal. So, yeah, it's what you have left. However, that's not the only thing your pulmonologist looks at for diagnosis.

PFT determines lung capacity and function to determine if there's a lung problem. My PFT usually is between 20% and 26%.

Did nt know that , will do this breathing exercise more , thanks.

I have a CT scan everytime I see my lung doctor. 26% is an increase for mine from 2 years ago.