patients. Prognosis Hypoxia caused by pulmonary fibrosis can lead to pulmonary hypertension, which, in turn, can lead to heart failure of the right ventricle. Hypoxia can be prevented with oxygen supplementation. Pulmonary fibrosis may also result in an increased risk for pulmonary emboli, which can be prevented by anticoagulants. Epidemiology Five million people worldwide are affected by pulmonary fibrosis. The rates below are per 100,000 persons, and the ranges reflect narrow and broad inclusion criteria, respectively. These data do not reflect any increased rates due to the COVID-19 pandemic; pulmonary fibrosis is a known symptom of COVID-19 and is estimated (as of July 2020) to occur in roughly 1/3rd of patients hospitalized for COVID-19. Based on these rates, pulmonary fibrosis prevalence in the United States could range from more than 29,000 to almost 132,000, based on the population in 2000 that was 18 years or older. The actual numbers may be significantly higher due to misdiagnosis. Typically, patients are in their forties and fifties when diagnosed while the incidence of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis increases dramatically after the age of fifty. However, loss of pulmonary function is commonly ascribed to old age, heart disease or to more common lung diseases. References Lung disorders Wikipedia medicine articles ready to translate