What does barrel chest indicate

It occurs because the lungs are chronically overinflated with air, so the rib cage stays partially expanded all the time. This makes breathing less efficient and aggravates shortness of breath. Barrel chest can also relate to a rounding in the shape of the rib cage as some people age. Yonsei Med J.

The thoracic cage becomes flattened in the progression of pleuroparenchymal fibroelastosis. Eur Respir Rev. Jones K. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: WB Saunders; Your Privacy Rights. To change or withdraw your consent choices for VerywellHealth. At any time, you can update your settings through the "EU Privacy" link at the bottom of any page.

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What Is Severe Asthma? Frequently Asked Questions What is barrel chest? What does barrel chest look like? How are the ribs affected by barrel chest?

Can people with COPD have barrel chest? Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Sign Up. What are your concerns? Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy. Related Articles. Tests Used to Diagnose Emphysema. How Smoking Causes Lung Disease. Our Housecall e-newsletter will keep you up-to-date on the latest health information.

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What causes barrel chest? Smoking is the leading cause of emphysema, a disease of the lungs that makes it hard to breathe. Learn more about how emphysema affects you and how…. Health Conditions Discover Plan Connect.

COPD leads to a number of long-term symptoms that may result in an early death. Mucus-producing cough. Blue lips and nails. Lower body swelling. Barrel chest. Weight loss. Living better with COPD. Medically reviewed by Modern Weng, D. Read this next. Medically reviewed by Gerhard Whitworth, R. Medically reviewed by Debra Sullivan, Ph.

Medically reviewed by Adithya Cattamanchi, M.