The 6 signs of terrifying lung disease that left director David Lynch ‘unable to walk across a room’ before his death
LEGENDARY director David Lynch passed away at the age of 78, after revealing he’d suffered from a terrifying lung disease that left him barely able to “walk across a room”.
The filmmaker captivated and horrified audiences alike with bizarre and surreal works like Blue Velvet, Mulholland Drive and Twin Peaks – and was rarely seen without a cigarette in hand.
His smoking habit was almost lifelong, as Lynch began smoking at the tender age of eight.
In an interview with People in November last year, the director described smoking as “a big important part of my life”.
“I loved the smell of tobacco, the taste of tobacco. I loved lighting cigarettes. It was part of being a painter and a filmmaker for me.”
He tried to quit many times as the years went by, sensing that his habit would come back to “bite” him.
And bite it him it did, as Lynch was diagnosed with emphysema, a chronic lung condition caused by damage to tiny air sacs in the lungs called alveoli.
Healthy lungs are made up up of millions alveoli with elastic walls that take oxygen into the body and expel carbon dioxide, a waste gas.
Cigarette smoke is the major cause of emphysema, according to Asthma + Lung UK, gradually damaging the walls of these air sacs, making them break apart and merge into each other, creating holes in the lung.
But pollution, dust, chemical fumes and even vaping, can also destroy lung tissue, Cleveland Clinic notes.
People with emphysema can find it increasingly hard to breath, as damaged parts of the lung become baggy and trap air.
As they breathe in, the damaged part of the lung inflates more and gets in the way of the healthier lung parts, increasing in the amount of air inside the chest.
Lynch described the everyday agony of his condition in his interview with People.
“It’s tough living with emphysema,” he shared.
“I can hardly walk across a room. It’s like you’re walking around with a plastic bag around your head.”
Aside from making him rely on oxygen to move around, the disease also made him more vulnerable to picking up other respiratory diseases, keeping him homebound and robbing him of further opportunities to direct.
From symptoms to causes and treatment, here’s everything you need to know about emphysema.
What are the symptoms of emphysema?
Emphysema is a type of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a group of lung conditions that cause breathing difficulties.
Data from 2022 shows that around 1.4 million people in the UK have been diagnosed with COPD and that the condition is responsible for about 30,000 deaths a year.
According to Cleveland Clinic, many people don’t notice emphysema symptoms until the disease has destroyed half – or more – of their lung tissue.
Initial symptoms can include gradually worsening shortness of breath and tiredness.
Tips to quit smoking
The NHS recommends the following tips:
- Pick a date to quit and stick to it. Tell your family and friends and plan something fun to
take your mind off it. - Ask your friends and family for support. If someone close to you is thinking of stopping,
why not quit at the same time so you can support each other? - Understand situations in which you’re likely to be tempted. Write them down and come up with
ways to overcome the urge. For example: ‘If I’m with friends who are smoking, I’ll leave the room
and have a glass of water.’ - Get rid of everything in your home or at work that reminds you of smoking.
- Call yourself a non-smoker and think of yourself as one.
Over time, this can progress to:
- Persistent coughing
- Wheezing
- Shortness of breath, especially during light exercise like climbing steps
- Constant feeling of not being able to get enough air
- Tightness in your chest
- Increased mucus production, with the mucus looking yellow or green
The condition can also be responsible for symptoms such as:
- Heart problems
- Trouble sleeping
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Weight loss
- Increased risk of pneumonia, bronchitis and other lung infections
Who’s most at risk?
Smokers are at higher risk of developing emphysema.
The likelihood of developing it increases the more you smoke and the longer you’ve smoked.
Lynch himself struggled to stub out the habit for two years after receiving his emphysema diagnosis.
He urged other smokers to use his own experience as an example: “You can quit these things that are going to end up killing you.”
Some cases of emphysema are also caused by long-term exposure to harmful fumes, dust and air pollution.
Others can be more vulnerable to developing COPD due to their genes.
People with a deficiency in alpha-1-antitrypsin – a substance that protects your lungs – can go on to develop COPD, as their lungs are more vulnerable to damage.
Who was David Lynch?
Filmmaking giant David Lynch died at age 78, his family announced in a Facebook post on January 16, 2025
“It is with deep regret that we, his family, announce the passing of the man and the artist, David Lynch. We would appreciate some privacy at this time,” the family statement said.
“There’s a big hole in the world now that he’s no longer with us. But, as he would say, ‘Keep your eye on the donut and not on the hole.’ It’s a beautiful day with golden sunshine and blue skies all the way.”
Who was David Lynch?
Lynch, who was born on January 20, 1946, transcended American filmmaking with his dark, surrealistic artistic vision with films such as Blue Velvet, Mulholland Drive, and the television show Twin Peaks.
His work blended elements of horror, film noir and a classical European surrealism.
Before he entered filmmaking, Lynch was revered as a painter.
He described his painting of of having to be “organic, violently done and crude” to “achieve that I try to let nature paint more than I paint.”
Lynch transitioned his artistic mindset and style into filmmaking in the late 1970s, when he burst onto the scene with his 1977 feature Eraserhead – a horrific, black-humored work that became a disturbing fixture on the midnight movie circuit.
The film quickly took Hollywood and the international movie industry by storm, leading to him signing with Mel Brooks’ production company.
The 1980 drama film The Elephant Man captivated audiences, earning eight Academy Award nominations.
Blue Velvet, a frightening hellride, combining film noir and psychological horror, took viewers through the underbelly of a small American town.
It earned Lynch a second Academy Award nomination for Best Director.
In the years after the film’s release, Blue Velvet was named one of the greatest films of the 1980s.
In April 1990, Lynch worked alongside screenwriter Mark Frost to produce the ABC horror mystery show Twin Peaks.
The show centered on a detective who teams with a fellow FBI agent to investigate the murder of a homecoming queen.
Although Twin Peaks only ran for two seasons before its cancelation, the show gained a following in the years that followed and is often cited as one of the greatest TV shows of all time.
Lynch was married four times throughout his life and had three children, Jennifer, Austin Jack, and Riley.
In August 2024, he diagnosed with emphysema after a lifetime of smoking. Lynch disclosed that he was unable to leave his home because of the pulmonary disease.
How is emphysema treated?
While your lungs can’t heal once you’ve got emphysema, a number of treatments can help reduce symptoms and improve your quality of life.
This includes things like pulmonary rehabilitation, oxygen therapy and lung volume reduction procedures.
In severe cases, you may be in need of a lung transplant – but Asthma + Lung notes that it is a high-risk major operation only suitable for a small number of people and there are not enough lung donations currently available to meet demand.
There are several things you can do too to improve your quality of life.
For starters you should quit smoking if you haven’t already.
Getting your yearly flu vaccine can also protect you against winter viruses and slash your risk of developing serious complications if you get ill – such as pneumonia or heart problems.
People living with long-term conditions like COPD can get the vaccine for free on the NHS.
Eating well and staying at a healthy weight can also help you manage your condition, as well as exercising to help you improve your breathing and learning breathing techniques to help you feel more in control of your breathing and cope when you get out of breath.