Normal healthy lung tissue is soft and flexible, allowing easy breathing.

In IPF, the lung tissue is damaged, becoming scarred over time. This process is called fibrosis.2,3

As IPF gets worse, scarring spreads through the lungs which makes breathing more difficult.3

Once the lung tissue is damaged from progressive scarring, unfortunately it does not recover.3

Having IPF makes it harder to breathe.2
People with IPF also cough a lot2,3 and are easily tired.4
In daily life, it can become harder to do things that were easy before because of increasing breathlessness.2,4
It is important to confirm you have IPF with a diagnosis as early as possible, so you can start treatment straight away; this can have a big impact on how the condition progresses.2,3

References:

  1. Nalysnyk L et al. Eur Respir Rev 2O12; 21(126); 355–361.
  2. Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. NICE Information for the public. CG163 June 2O13.
    Available at https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/cg163/resources/idiopathic-pulmonary-fibrosis-246349233349. Accessed 21.O8.19
  3. Costabel U. Eur Respir Rev 2O15; 24(135): 65–8.
  4. Russell A et al. BMC Pulmonary Medicine 2O16; 16:1O

This is a schematic representation and not intended to fully capture the variability of progression in IPF.

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