Estimating the number of people in the Federal Calare electorate aged 55 to 75 years with respiratory disease is the goal of a new Charles Sturt University (CSU) research project. Dr Debbie Burton, a senior lecturer and Associate Head of the School of Biomedical Sciences at CSU’s Orange Campus, says the project will screen people for asthma, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and the related disease Congestive Heart Failure (CHF). “The free lung health test uses a breathing test, where participants take a full breath in, then breathe out fully and with maximum effort into a tube, to check how well they can ventilate their lungs. Most people diagnosed with COPD experience moderate to severe shortness of breath and reduced lung function before discussing this with their doctor. This delays the diagnosis of COPD and increases the risk of getting the related disease CHF. Once diagnosed, people with these diseases can be managed medically so that the diseases progress more slowly and the quality of life for these people improves.” The study results will be used to identify ways to more easily screen and detect these diseases earlier in older people. If you have received an invitation letter and wish to take part in the study, contact Jillian Webb on telephone 02 6365 7823.