What does Vital capacity measure?

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cfgf28

Guest
What does vital capacity measure and what is normal? For a male 5'9"? Im not sure what this number means
 
C

cfgf28

Guest
What does vital capacity measure and what is normal? For a male 5'9"? Im not sure what this number means
 
C

cfgf28

Guest
What does vital capacity measure and what is normal? For a male 5'9"? Im not sure what this number means
 

Havoc

New member
Vital capacity, or forced vital capacity (usually listed as FVC on your PFT report) is the total amount of air you are able to expel after maximum inhalation. Essentially its tidal volume+reserve volume. What's normal for a male 5'9" I'm not sure. However I am 5'7" and my reference value is 5.03L, so it should be close to that.
 

Havoc

New member
Vital capacity, or forced vital capacity (usually listed as FVC on your PFT report) is the total amount of air you are able to expel after maximum inhalation. Essentially its tidal volume+reserve volume. What's normal for a male 5'9" I'm not sure. However I am 5'7" and my reference value is 5.03L, so it should be close to that.
 

Havoc

New member
Vital capacity, or forced vital capacity (usually listed as FVC on your PFT report) is the total amount of air you are able to expel after maximum inhalation. Essentially its tidal volume+reserve volume. What's normal for a male 5'9" I'm not sure. However I am 5'7" and my reference value is 5.03L, so it should be close to that.
 

Havoc

New member
Yes, I would say that's an expression of percent predicted, meaning that based on sex, height and weight the FVC was 120% of the predicted reference. A word of caution though, don't go by percentage alone. It can be deceiving. Let's say that your are short and thin, your reference value will be lower, meaning that it will be easy for you to blow really high percentages. Also, numbers vary from clinic to clinic depending on what algorithm they are using. Furthermore, FVC isn't as good a measure of overall lung health. Look more to FEV1 and FEV25/75 and their trends over time.

In another thread I'm going to try and post my PFT printout and explain some of the numbers to those who might not understand. It can be a bit of a learning curve. Also, ask your resp. tech to give you a copy of your report, that way you can keep track of things on your own.
 

Havoc

New member
Yes, I would say that's an expression of percent predicted, meaning that based on sex, height and weight the FVC was 120% of the predicted reference. A word of caution though, don't go by percentage alone. It can be deceiving. Let's say that your are short and thin, your reference value will be lower, meaning that it will be easy for you to blow really high percentages. Also, numbers vary from clinic to clinic depending on what algorithm they are using. Furthermore, FVC isn't as good a measure of overall lung health. Look more to FEV1 and FEV25/75 and their trends over time.

In another thread I'm going to try and post my PFT printout and explain some of the numbers to those who might not understand. It can be a bit of a learning curve. Also, ask your resp. tech to give you a copy of your report, that way you can keep track of things on your own.
 

Havoc

New member
Yes, I would say that's an expression of percent predicted, meaning that based on sex, height and weight the FVC was 120% of the predicted reference. A word of caution though, don't go by percentage alone. It can be deceiving. Let's say that your are short and thin, your reference value will be lower, meaning that it will be easy for you to blow really high percentages. Also, numbers vary from clinic to clinic depending on what algorithm they are using. Furthermore, FVC isn't as good a measure of overall lung health. Look more to FEV1 and FEV25/75 and their trends over time.
<br />
<br />In another thread I'm going to try and post my PFT printout and explain some of the numbers to those who might not understand. It can be a bit of a learning curve. Also, ask your resp. tech to give you a copy of your report, that way you can keep track of things on your own.
 
C

cfgf28

Guest
okay, the FEV numbers were 102, they told him vital capacity was 120... Ugh i dont know why Im so nuts about all these numbers, I just want him to ba as healthy as possible....He's going to start going to the gym when he gets home. Ive seen some of your posts saying you work out alot, and don't do chest therapy, he wasn't working out or doing therapy as often as he was told....But he's going to keep up with it when he gets home. He had a good increase of FEV while in the hospital. Has exercising alone made your numbers go up?
 
C

cfgf28

Guest
okay, the FEV numbers were 102, they told him vital capacity was 120... Ugh i dont know why Im so nuts about all these numbers, I just want him to ba as healthy as possible....He's going to start going to the gym when he gets home. Ive seen some of your posts saying you work out alot, and don't do chest therapy, he wasn't working out or doing therapy as often as he was told....But he's going to keep up with it when he gets home. He had a good increase of FEV while in the hospital. Has exercising alone made your numbers go up?
 
C

cfgf28

Guest
okay, the FEV numbers were 102, they told him vital capacity was 120... Ugh i dont know why Im so nuts about all these numbers, I just want him to ba as healthy as possible....He's going to start going to the gym when he gets home. Ive seen some of your posts saying you work out alot, and don't do chest therapy, he wasn't working out or doing therapy as often as he was told....But he's going to keep up with it when he gets home. He had a good increase of FEV while in the hospital. Has exercising alone made your numbers go up?
 

Havoc

New member
Those are good PFTs, so don't fret.

Exercise has helped me tremendously, but there's a bit of luck thrown in there. CF is a complex disease in many ways, one of which is why it leaves some people relatively alone and kicks others butts. If he keeps up the exercise and takes care of himself, I would expect him to enjoy reasonably good health for a while.

Whatever you do, make sure that when he starts going to the gym he takes along hand sanitizer. I picked up a bacteria in the gym that landed me in the hospital. He doesn't want to lose everything he's gained.
 

Havoc

New member
Those are good PFTs, so don't fret.

Exercise has helped me tremendously, but there's a bit of luck thrown in there. CF is a complex disease in many ways, one of which is why it leaves some people relatively alone and kicks others butts. If he keeps up the exercise and takes care of himself, I would expect him to enjoy reasonably good health for a while.

Whatever you do, make sure that when he starts going to the gym he takes along hand sanitizer. I picked up a bacteria in the gym that landed me in the hospital. He doesn't want to lose everything he's gained.
 
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