Final answer:
People with emphysema and high lung compliance struggle to breathe out because the elasticity of the lungs is diminished, leading to air becoming trapped in the lungs and causing difficulty in exhaling efficiently. This is due to damages to alveolar walls and loss of elastic fibers, which reduce lung recoil and increase resistance during exhalation.
Step-by-step explanation:
Individuals with emphysema and a high lung compliance experience difficulty breathing out because the elastic recoil of the lungs is significantly reduced. In emphysema, damage to the alveolar walls from factors like tobacco smoking leads to a loss of elastic fibers, resulting in an increased compliance. This means the lungs are more stretchable but lack the ability to spring back effectively during exhalation. Consequently, air is trapped in the lungs, making it hard to breathe out.
This trapped air increases the volume of the lungs after exhalation, causing these individuals to breathe at a higher lung volume to try to compensate. Airway obstruction also leads to increased airway resistance, which adds to the difficulty of breathing out. The loss of surface area for gas exchange further compounds the problem, hampering the ability to release carbon dioxide efficiently, and leading to low oxygen levels and an excess of carbon dioxide in the blood.