Emphysema, the fourth leading cause of death ...

When you breathe, air goes into the lungs through the airways called bronchi. Bronchi divide into smaller airways called bronchioles, which end in clusters of tiny air sacs called alveoli. Emphysema, the fourth leading cause of death in the United States affects the walls of millions of tiny air sacs in the lungs to become inflamed and free elasticity lasix 16 mg, leading to the collapse of the bronchioles. As a result, the air is caught in a trap in the air bag, which become overloaded and can break, greatly affect a person's ability to breathe. The main cause of emphysema is cigarette smoking. Other risk factors include air pollution, occupational dust and of chemical substances, frequent lower respiratory infections and passive smoking. In rare cases, a genetic disorder alpha-1 antitrypsin (AAT) deficiency causes emphysema. .