Pulmonary fibrosis is scarring (called fibrosis) in the tissue inside the lungs. It’s just one of about 200 interstitial pulmonary diseases that affect the tissue around the balloon-like structures (called air sacs) attached to the lung airways.
Scarring in pulmonary fibrosis results from damage caused by inhaled environmental pollutants, radiation treatment, certain prescription medicines, autoimmune diseases, or genetic disorders. In many cases, there is no known cause (called idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis).
Symptoms of pulmonary fibrosis include a chronic (ongoing) dry cough, shortness of breath, chest discomfort, and weight loss. Progressive (worsening) tissue stiffness makes it hard to breathe, and lack of oxygen in the blood can lead to life-threatening conditions. Complications of pulmonary fibrosis include:
- Heart failure: caused by the right ventricle pumping blood harder than usual to move blood to the lungs
- Lung cancer: abnormal cell production in the lung
- Other lung problems: infections, blood clots, or collapsed lung
- Pulmonary hypertension: high blood pressure in the pulmonary artery
- Respiratory failure: when not enough oxygen passes from the lungs into the blood
If you have symptoms of pulmonary fibrosis, visit a pulmonologist (lung specialist) at the University of Miami Health System. We’ll manage your symptoms, so that you can live a healthier life.
Why Choose UHealth?
Researching new and better treatments and care for pulmonary fibrosis. We’re studying medicine safety and effectiveness for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and other interstitial lung diseases. You can trust you’re getting the most innovative treatments, sooner. Learn more about our clinical trials.
Advanced diagnostics and nuclear imaging. With advanced diagnostic tests and imaging and interventional radiology techniques (called bronchoscopy), we can get better results, for more accurate diagnosis. This means we can start treatment early, and even slow disease progression.
Critical care experts here for you from hospital to home. Our pulmonologists are experts in pulmonary fibrosis and offer services in the hospital and intensive care unit. We also provide follow-up outpatient (clinic) appointments in convenient South Florida locations. You get seamless care from some of the same providers who know you and understand your medical history.