A person with emphysema cannot exhale without great effort.
Stale air remains trapped in the lungs, preventing the needed exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide.
The most common symptom of emphysema is breathlessness followed by coughing during exertion, no matter how slight. Most people who are diagnosed with emphysema are long-term cigarette smokers. Symptoms may not occur until middle age, when the individual's ability to exercise or do heavy work begins to decline, and a productive cough begins. The symptoms may be subtle at first, but worsen with time. In rare cases, emphysema is due to a deficiency of a blood protein called antitrypsin.