Chronic pulmonary hyperinflation Book

The focus of this book is on chronic pulmonary hyperinflation: its causes, consequences and treatment. It is based on the workshop held in Montescano, Italy, in November 1989. The contributors were invited to attend the workshop on the basis of the excellence of their past contributions to the literature and their original views and experience in this field. The beginning chapters deal with the basic mechanisms leading to alveolar wall disruption, with increase in airways resistance and air trapping, and are followed by chapters exploring the effects of hyperinflation and gas mixing on lung and bronchial circulation, and on venous returns to the heart, and its role in pulmonary edema. Subsequent chapters investigate how chronic and acute lung hyperinflation can affect inspiratory muscle function, and how tonic activity of these muscles can in turn be responsible for hyperinflation. The final chapters focus on therapeutic aspects and include such topics as mechanical ventilation, bronchodilatation physiotherapy, and respiratory muscle training in patients with chronic hyperinflation.