If you have any kind of breathing problem, whether it's a nagging cough or a condition like asthma, you can get the expert care you need, close to home.
At Indiana Regional Medical Center (IRMC), we offer a full range of routine pulmonology tests and treatments. We also offer advanced lung procedures typically only found at larger centers.
When you need a pulmonologist
There are many reasons why you might need to see the highly trained and experienced pulmonology doctor at IRMC. Here are just a few:
Symptoms of a lung condition. These symptoms may include things like a chronic cough or shortness of breath. To help find the cause, the pulmonologist may recommend that you get breathing or imaging tests in the pulmonology office or nearby in the hospital.
Spots on the lungs. Our pulmonologist investigates when imaging tests reveal abnormal lung scans.
Ongoing care for a lung disease. Asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), pneumonia, tuberculosis and complicated chest infections are some of the conditions our pulmonologist treats. The pulmonology team will help you understand your disease and educate you on how to get the most from your treatment plan.
We may also recommend pulmonary rehabilitation, a program of exercise and lung disease education.
Sleep problems. If you have symptoms such as loud snoring or nightly breathing pauses, you could have a sleep disorder. Our pulmonologist can evaluate your symptoms and recommend a sleep study, if needed. Afterward, the doctor will interpret the results of your sleep study and recommend a treatment plan. Learn more about IRMC's Sleep Disorders Center.
Reviewed 10/20/2022
Secondhand smoke: True or false?
Even though fewer people are lighting up nationwide, most of us still know someone who smokes. And if you're exposed to their secondhand smoke, you're breathing in more than 7,000 chemicals, including arsenic, ammonia and carbon monoxide. Just how dangerous is this smoke? Test your knowledge now.
True or false: Though it can cause lung irritation, secondhand smoke is unlikely to cause cancer.
False. Even if you don't smoke yourself, you can still get lung cancer by inhaling secondhand smoke. In fact, the U.S. surgeon general estimates that living with a smoker increases a nonsmoker's risk of lung cancer by up to 30%. Secondhand smoke may also raise the risk of breast cancer in women and brain cancer and leukemia in children.
True or false: Smoking and nonsmoking sections of restaurants are effective protection for nonsmokers.
False. Separating smokers from nonsmokers in a restaurant can't completely eliminate exposure to secondhand smoke. And there's no safe level of secondhand smoke. Even low levels can be harmful.
True or false: It's especially important to protect children from secondhand smoke.
True. Babies who breathe in secondhand smoke have a greater risk of sudden infant death syndrome (also known as SIDS). And older children whose parents smoke tend to get sick more often—and they're more likely to get pneumonia. Secondhand smoke can also trigger asthma attacks in kids.
True or false: Opening a car window is enough to protect nonsmokers from secondhand smoke.
False. Even exhaling out the car window does little, if anything, to reduce smoke exposure. So if you smoke—but haven't been able to quit yet—never light up in a car with other people.
True or false: Secondhand smoke can cause heart attacks.
True. Even a brief exposure to secondhand smoke can damage the lining of blood vessels. It can also cause your blood platelets to become stickier. And these changes can trigger a deadly heart attack.
Secondhand smoke can contribute to lung cancer even in nonsmokers.
Sources: American Academy of Family Physicians; American Cancer Society; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
State-of-the-art lung procedures
In addition to the many routine treatments and procedures we offer, IRMC's pulmonologist can also perform advanced procedures, such as:
- EBUS (endobronchial ultrasound) bronchoscopy. This advanced biopsy technique may spare patients the need for surgery when diagnosing and determining the extent of lung cancer. Our pulmonologist is the only one in Indiana County who offers this procedure.
- PleurX catheter system for lung cancer palliative care. Tubes are placed in the lungs of people with advanced lung cancer to drain fluid and ease symptoms.
Make an appointment with a pulmonologist
You don't need a referral for routine office visits, though you may need one for specific diagnostic tests like EBUS.
To schedule an appointment or learn more, please call 888.452.4762.