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Date: 19 May 2013
Time: 14:50
Get your lungs tested
Story posted/last updated: 20 June 2012
Visitors to Birmingham city centre are being invited to give their lungs a test while checking out the sights and shops.
Lung function staff from Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham (QEHB) and other local hospitals will be on hand at the city’s International Convention Centre (ICC) on June 20 as part of a major lung health conference.
Consultant Clinical Scientist Dr Brendan Cooper, together with QEHB colleagues Amie Murray and Gemma Woodall, will be offering shoppers, workers and visitors the chance to measure their lung function.
The test, in which people breathe out hard and fast into a hand-held device, is designed to check lung function for conditions such as asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), or rare chest wall problems.
They will take place in the main foyer of the ICC from 10:00 on June 20 – the opening day of the COPD8 Conference, which has attracted respiratory specialists from around the world.
The three-day conference, which is held every two years, has been organised by former University Hospitals Birmingham consultants Prof Rob Stockley and Prof Sue Hill, who are both still attached to QEHB.
COPD8 links in to World Spirometry Day, an awareness campaign that demonstrates the importance of sport and healthy lungs while offering people the chance to test their lung health.
In anticipation of World Spirometry Day, new data reveals that almost half of people (46%) living with COPD in the West Midlands are going undiagnosed, which equates to 80,000 people unknowingly living with the disease.
Dr Cooper, who also holds a senior role with the European Respiratory Society, said: “The whole purpose of this event is to raise awareness of people’s lungs and to promote good lung health.
“The role of respiratory physiology is shifting from being diagnosis and monitoring treatment to more preventative roles, which is why we perform around 20,000 lung function tests a year at the hospital.”
As well as the lung tests and oxygen treatment, Dr Cooper and his team also provide around 800 sleep apnea patients with ventilation masks to aid their breathing and prevent snoring and stopping breathing at night.
Visitors to the ICC on June 20 will be able to get their breathing tested between 10:00 and 14:00, although this may be extended. The ‘Healthy Lungs’ event will also encourage people to inflate a giant pair of lungs to test their lung strength, while medical experts will be on hand to discuss the health risks associated with smoking and offer advice on the best methods to stop.
Dr Cooper added: “People will be asked to perform a quick 10 minute test where they have to take as big a breath as they can and then blow out hard and fast until their lungs are completely empty. Depending on their age, most people with healthy lungs will blow 70-80 per cent of all they are going to blow out in the first second. So, if you have asthma, the amount you would exhale in that first second would be lower than expected.
“That would show that the person has airway obstruction and we would look at their history as to whether they might have asthma or COPD.
“Sometimes, if the amount they blew out altogether was very reduced, this could indicate ‘restrictive’ pattern which could be an indication of lung fibrosis, respiratory muscle weakness which could reduce lung inflation.
“We believe there are thousands of patients with COPD in Birmingham alone, because COPD is caused predominantly by smoking. However, we want the Birmingham public to be aware that knowing they have healthy lungs and keeping them healthy by avoiding pollutants and smoke is an excellent life choice.”
If anyone is found to have any abnormalities in lung function from the ICC tests, the person concerned would be given a standard letter to give to their GP as well as a copy of their results if required. Specialists would also be on hand to offer advice.
Monica Fletcher, Chair of the European Lung Foundation, CEO of Warwick-based charity Education for Health, and spokesperson for World Spirometry Day, said: “COPD is having a huge impact on people across the West Midlands, many of whom are unaware of the serious condition they’re living with.
“The free spirometry testing is about getting people to think about their lung health and take action before it’s too late. With Birmingham playing host to a major conference on lung disease, the time is right to encourage action from everyone.”
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