Symptoms of pulmonary fibrosis include: - shortness of breath -
diminished exercise tolerance Symptoms vary depending on the
cause of the pulmonary fibrosis. The severity of symptoms and
the progression (worsening) of symptoms over time can vary. The
most common cause, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, unfortunately
often has slow and relentless progression. Early on, patients
often complain of a dry unexplained cough. Often, slow and
insidious onset of shortness of breath can set in. With time,
dyspnea (shortness of breath) worsens. Primarily, dyspnea
initially occurs only with activity and is often attributed to
aging. With time, the dyspnea begins to occur with less and less
activity. Eventually, the shortness of breath becomes disabling,
limiting all activity and even occurring while sitting still. In
rarer cases, the fibrosis can be rapidly progressive, with
dyspnea and disability occurring in weeks to months of onset of
the disease. This form of pulmonary fibrosis has been referred
to as Hamman-Rich syndro