PFT's..whats it mean?!?

anonymous

New member
im not going to leave my name bcoz i feel a bit embarased that i dont actaully know what it means!!!.... is it like your saturation levels?!
17yo with cf
 

anonymous

New member
PFTs are a way to track how your lungs are doing. It measures the air you take in and exhale and compares that volume to a "normal" person of the same heightt, weight and age.

The PFT shows many statistics that mean different things about different parts of your lungs. The number the docs tend to focus on immediatly is the FEV1 (forced expired volume in 1 second), or how much air you blow out in that first second of the test. This number is important because if their is blockage, you will not get much air out.
Debbie
23 w/ CF
 

anonymous

New member
Your saturation level that is provided when they put the pulse-ox on your finger (any one else think E.T.?<img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif" border="0">) is a measurement of how many hemoglobin molecules in your blood are saturated (full) of oxygen. Your tissues extract O2 as needed as the molecules travel. When your saturation is low, then there is too much carbon dioxide in your body and that can cause respritory failure.

Debbie
23 w/ CF
 
Top