Risk Factors of Emphysema

Emphysema causes reduced ventilation due to the breakdown of the alveoli, significantly impairing the ability to give off carbon dioxide. It even impairs the uptake of oxygen in serious instances. The body fails to sustain sufficiently high levels of oxygen in the blood. As a last resort, the body begins vasoconstricting the right vessels leading to pulmonary tension that involves extra strain on the right side of the patient’s heart. It is the right side that is responsible for supplying deoxygenated blood back to the lungs. The heart is forced to pump more blood to compensate causing the cardiac muscles to thicken which in turn causes distension of the jugular vein. Ultimately, as the overworked heart fails to cope, it expands resulting in the blood backing up into the liver. Also, a combination of oxygen deprivation, side effects of any medication employed and the patient’s age can damage the heart, kidneys and other parts of the body.