The Relevance of Respiratory Muscles in COPD Patients and How to Assess Their Function

Chronic obstructive lung disease is often seen in aged chronic smokers. COPD brings to mind a patient with dyspnea during exertion, cyanotic and often hypercapnic. These patients are part of a vicious circle, where dyspnea limits exercise, leading to disuse and, eventually, atrophy in the skeletal muscles and so forth. Included in this process are the respiratory muscles.