Why is a PFT so important?
The PFT is an important BHS assessment tool to measure the extent, if any, to which an FDNY member’s occupational exposure to contaminants is affecting their lung function. The PFT is an early warning tool used to detect the beginnings of potentially serious lung conditions. The sooner that these lung conditions are diagnosed, the earlier a clinical plan can be implemented to treat them. This early treatment may favorably impact the severity, length, and outcome of a WTC or other work-related condition or illness. The importance of receiving regularly scheduled BHS medicals, that include a PFT, can’t be overemphasized. The unique FDNY exposures to particulate debris, fire, dust and smoke at the WTC site, seem likely to produce delayed, and developing, serious health outcomes that will be years in the making. Spirometry, the PFT used in your regular BHS Medical, measures how well your lungs inhale and exhale. How you exhale during your PFT can uncover problems in the way you breathe. Sp
