National Lung Health Education Program
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Spirometry The NLHEP has as its theme: "Test Your Lungs - Know Your Numbers". Measures of air flow and volume are indicators of lung health and these noninvasive tests can be done in the physician's office with a spirometer, a device used to measure lung health.
To learn your FEV1 and FEV6, you will be asked to hold the tube of a spirometer in your mouth, inhale as much air as possible, then exhale forcefully into the spirometer for six seconds or more. It is now known that the forced expiratory volume in six seconds FEV6 is an excellent surrogate for FVC. Thus, doing a six-second expiratory maneuver is more pleasant for the patient and more convenient for the tester. Newer spirometers are now available that use the two parameters: FEV1 and FEV6. Predicted values for FEV6 have been validated and published. |
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Shown
here is a simple handheld spirometer that can be used either in,
or away from, the physician's office. Blowing forcefully into the
tube provides a quick, easy measure of both FEV1
and FEV6 (FVC).