What are the symptoms of lung disease? The lungs control breathing, expelling carbon dioxide and taking in oxygen, and a bad lung will affect the respiratory function, resulting in shortness of breath, chest tightness, and dyspnea. Due to the large amount of mucus and foreign matter produced by lung disease, there are also symptoms such as coughing and sputum. Some patients, if severe, will also cough up blood. Therefore, the symptoms are different for different diseases, and most of them will be accompanied by cough, sputum and dyspnea.