Additionally, this blockage causes the lungs to slowly overfill and makes breathing increasingly more difficult. key facts about emphysema. over three million people in the united states have been diagnosed with emphysema. emphysema is one of the most preventable respiratory illnesses because it is so strongly linked to smoking. What is emphysema. emphysema is the abnormal enlargement of the airspaces in the lungs with destruction of the walls of the air sacs. it is accompanied by a loss of elasticity of the airways which then collapse during expiration. pulmonary emphysema literally means excess air in the lungs since the air that is inspired (inhaled) cannot exit as easily and is therefore ‘trapped’ with the lung. The difference between emphysema and chronic bronchitis lies in how each disease affects the lungs. the lack of a cure for either emphysema or chronic bronchitis doesn’t mean a lack of available treatment. if you have exhausted conventional medical treatments and are lookin...