Heavy smoker with increasing shortness of breath

A 55-year old woman was admitted to the hospital with a chief complaint of increasing shortness of breath over the past several years. The patient was quite a heavy smoker of cigarettes over the past 40 years. Nothing other than total rest relieved her discomfort. She was treated symptomatically, and was strongly advised to stop smoking completely.

The correct answer is A. Emphysema. There were a total of 0 responses. A breakdown of responses are inside the parentheses below.

The most likely diagnosis is:

A. Emphysema (0)
B. Asthma (0)
C. Chronic bronchitis (0)
D. Lung cancer (0)
E. Atelectasis (0)