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Diagnosis of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)
Other Diagnostic Tests
Chest X-ray - to rule-out other lung conditions that may cause airway obstruction
Complete blood count - to rule-out anemia (lower than normal level of red blood cells) and polycythemia (abnormally large number of red blood cells in the circulation)
Testing for alpha 1 antitrypsin deficiency in young patients with a family history of the condition
Electrocardiogram - to rule-out electrical conduction heart abnormalities (arrhythmias)
Echocardiogram - to rule out heart valve problems
Pulse oximetry - a test which measures the percentage of hemoglobin in the bloodstream that is saturated with oxygen - an indicator of how well a person is breathing.
