Obstructive lung diseases such as asthma or COPD narrow the airways, reducing the volume that can be exhaled in the first second (FEV1) far more than the total volume exhaled (FVC). This lowers the FEV1/FVC ratio below the normal threshold (≈0.70). In restrictive disorders, both FEV1 and FVC fall proportionally, so the ratio stays normal or even rises. A normal spirometry trace alone cannot differentiate the two, and an elevated ratio with a low FVC points to restriction, not obstruction.
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