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What Is The Prognosis For A Person Suffering With Emphysema?
My husband is almost 72 and he has stage 3 COPD (emphysema). He s had several exacerbations, but hasn t had one in a while. He started smoking at 16 and just quit 7 months ago. He uses inhalers, is on Prednisone and Theophylline and sees his Dr. regularly. He s on oxygen 24/7. We ve been married 44 years and he s my world. I love him so much. Also, when someone dies of Emphysema, do they suffer horribly, or can they put a tube in to breathe for him? I m so scared. What do statistics say about how long he has to live? Also, his heart rate tonight was 106 and he was just standing at the counter. He s very optimistic, but I m not.
posted on
Fri, 19 May 2017
Medically reviewed by
Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team
Thu, 29 Jun 2017
Answered on
Thu, 29 Jun 2017
Last reviewed on
COPD stage three is not last stage he needs long acting inhalation steroids and tiotopium both these drugs have shows increase in life expectancy and the third best among them is oxygen which improves Pulmonary Hypertension also in addition to oxygen saturation.
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