Dr. Raquel Ray Bartz MD

Doctors and nurses are a group of professionals that are vital to patients’ health. Often times, such as when dealing with a chronic condition like cystic fibrosis (CF), some of these professionals can become like family due to how frequently you see them. And in a majority of cases, through...

What is pleurisy?Pleurisy is a condition, in which the lining that surrounds the lungs and the interior of the chest cavity is inflamed. Due to the inflammation of the pleura, this condition is also called as pleuritis. The pleural space is the space between the lungs and the chest cavity wall....

Asthma describes the conditions and complications following the narrowing of bronchioles within lungs. This results in shortness of breath, coughing and a kind of loud wheezing accompanied by chest tightening.Although asthma can be cured, treated and managed with certain medications and natural...

Legionella bacteriaLegionnaires' disease is a type of pneumonia that is in its most severe form. The disease occurs due to a bacterial infection caused by a bacteria called legionella and mainly results in the inflammation of the lungs. The bacteria are known to thrive commonly in areas such as...

As with any disease, your doctor will first speak to you and asks for a detailed history. He or she will do a physical examination to come up with a differential diagnosis. Later, the diagnosis will be confirmed by doing some tests.History TakingExpect your pulmonologist to ask you questions...

Cystic fibrosis damages the lungs, digestive system, and other organs in the body. It affects the cells producing mucus, sweat, and digestive juices. It is caused due to defect in a gene. This gene changes a protein responsible for movement of salts in and out of cells. As a result, thick, sticky...