Top doctors: Improving lung function
If you're huffing and puffing when you walk up a single flight of stairs, don't blame the building. Your shortness of breath could have something to do with impaired lung function.
"Lung function measures the general ability of the lung to move air in and out of the body, and its ability to absorb oxygen and remove carbon dioxide," explained Dr. Mark J. Rosen, a lung specialist at North Shore University Hospital and Long Island Jewish Medical Center.
To improve your lung function, here's what you need to know:
1. SEE A DOCTOR IF YOU'RE SHORT OF BREATH
"Patients frequently ignore shortness of breath or decreased exercise tolerance as a sign of aging or being a little overweight," said Dr. Alan S. Multz, chairman of the department of medicine at NuHealth/Nassau University Medical Center in East Meadow. "That frequently leads to a delay in diagnosis and treatment for those with conditions or illnesses that predispose a person to the development of poor lung function."
Those conditions include cardiovascular diseases.
Rosen said that people should see a doctor when a lung problem like coughing or shortness of breath lasts longer than expected after a cold. The symptoms may seem to be lung-related, but he said they could be a sign of heart disease.
2. STOP SMOKING
"The best way to improve lung function is to avoid things that damage the lung," Rosen said, and cigarette smoking tops that list. "If you don't smoke, don't start. If you smoke, stop."
The effects of smoking cessation can be dramatic. A study in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine found that asthmatic heavy smokers who quit significantly improved their lung function in just six weeks. The researchers noticed a considerable difference in only one week.
3. LOSE WEIGHT AND EXERCISE
Obesity reduces the ability of the lungs to function by essentially shrinking their overall capacity, Multz explained. And while weight loss can boost the ability of the lungs to function, Rosen said that exercise allows the body to use them more efficiently.
Exercise seems to help even those who refuse to quit smoking. The study in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine also found that smokers who were moderate or heavy exercisers significantly lowered their risk for developing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Their lung function also declined at a slower rate than smokers who didn't exercise much.
4. CONSIDER MEDICATIONS
Inhalers can improve lung function in people with asthma, a condition that reduces lung function. Multz said that some inhalers are designed to soothe immediate symptoms, and others prevent problems from occurring or control them.
Other drugs also can be prescribed to treat poor lung function. Medications like prednisone, for example, treat the condition by reducing inflammation, he said.
5. ASK YOUR DOCTOR ABOUT 'PULMONARY REHABILITATION'
People with impaired lung function may benefit from pulmonary rehabilitation, which Multz described as an outpatient program that "consists of exercises training and therapeutic exercise, activities that teach one how to exercise properly, education on how to breathe properly, stress reduction, medication education, oxygen therapy and nutritional assessment."
The program, which usually lasts six weeks and requires screening and a doctor's referral, can help people "improve exercise capacity, reduce symptoms and increase the ability to perform activities of daily living, improve quality of life and hopefully reduce hospitalizations," he said.
PULMONOLOGISTS
This is the 20th installment of a 26-week series in which Newsday presents Castle Connolly's list of top Long Island doctors.
Dr. Daniel Baram
70 North Country Rd.
631-473-0037
Dr. Dennis Bernardini
175 E. Main St.
Huntington
631-424-3787
Dr. Alan Blum
444 Merrick Rd.
516-593-9500
Dr. David Breidbart
6 Ohio Dr.
LSQ Medical Bldg.
516-328-8700
Dr. Michael Cohen
N. Shore Internal Medical Assoc.
560 Northern Blvd.
516-482-0600
Dr. Alan Fein
2800 Marcus Ave.
Dept. Pulmonary Medicine
516-608-2890
Dr. Morton Glaser
60 North Country Rd.
631-509-1888
Dr. Richard Eric Gordon
Island Pulmonary Associates
4271 Hempstead Tpke.
516-796-3700
Dr. Harly Greenberg
North Shore LIJ
Sleep Disorders Center
410 Lakeville Rd.
516-465-3899
Dr. Benjamin Leeman
20 W. Lincoln Ave.
516-599-8787
Dr. Alan Mensch
453 S. Oyster Bay Rd.
516-433-2922
Dr. Steve Mermelstein
444 Merrick Rd.
516-593-9500
Dr. Alan Multz
2201 Hempstead Tpke.
516-572-6262
Dr. Ian Newmark
8 Greenfield Rd.
516-496-3001
Dr. Michael Niederman
222 Station Plaza N.
516-663-2834
Dr. Mark Rosen
410 Lakeville Rd.
516-465-5400
Dr. Rita Schulster
442 E. Waukena Ave.
516-599-8234
Dr. Howard Sklarek
325 Meeting House Lane Bldg. 1
631-283-8008
Dr. Harry Steinberg
LI Jewish Medical Center
Dept. Medicine
270-05 76th Ave.
516-465-5400
Dr. Lawrence Walser
185 Old Country Rd.
631-727-2523
Dr. Gary Wohlberg
370 E. Main St.
631-666-5864
Dr. Perry Wyner
2 Lincoln Ave.
516-536-4960
Dr. Henry Zupnick
158 Hempstead Ave.
516-593-3541
How they were picked
Castle Connolly Medical Ltd. is a health care research and information company founded in 1991 by a former medical college board chairman and president to help guide consumers to America's top doctors and hospitals. Castle Connolly's established survey and research process, under the direction of a doctor, involves tens of thousands of doctors and the medical leadership of leading hospitals.
Castle Connolly's team of researchers follows a rigorous screening process to select doctors on national and regional levels. Using mail and telephone surveys, and electronic ballots, they ask physicians and the leadership of top hospitals to identify exceptional doctors. Careful screening of doctors' educational and professional experience is essential to the committee. Not every good physician makes the list. Rather, the list is a way for patients to get started on their search for the best medical professional. Newsday is not part of the selection process.
Doctors do not and cannot pay to be selected and profiled as Castle Connolly Top Doctors.
To see the whole list . . .
Who else is on the list of Top Doctors? More than 6,000 listings are in the New York Metro Area edition of "Top Doctors," published by Castle Connolly Medical Ltd. The softcover list price is $34.95. For more information, go to castleconnolly.com, or call 800-399-DOCS.