What is Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease?

The main cause of COPD… is tobacco smoking.

You Need To Breathe

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is the third leading cause of death in America nowadays. Despite it being so popular, half of the estimated 24 million who have it don’t even know it. COPD permanently damages the airways and air sacs in the lungs.

COPD is a general term that describes progressive respiratory diseases, including emphysema and chronic bronchitis. This disease manifests as progressively decreasing airflow and inflammation of airway tissues.

Asthma is usually considered a separate respiratory disease, but the symptoms are sometimes mistaken as COPD. The two have overlapping pulmonology manifestations, including chronic coughing, wheezing, and shortness of breath.

The main cause of COPD in developed countries is tobacco smoking. COPD comes on gradually and worsens over the years. People get so used to living with COPD, they are not always aware of their symptoms and how the disease limits their quality of life and ability to do things. You can help by looking and listening for these telltale signs:

Constant coughing, sometimes called “smoker’s cough”
Shortness of breath while doing everyday activities
Excess sputum
Feeling unable to breathe
Unable to take a deep breath
Wheezing
Red lunula
Barrel chest

As soon as you notice the signs and symptoms, make an appointment with a pulmonology health care provider. If you notice such symptoms in a loved one, remind them that the sooner COPD is diagnosed, the better they will be able to breathe and live. To lessen anxiety, offer to go along to the doctor’s visit.

Most of this Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease information is provided by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. Visit COPD.nhlbi.nih.gov for information, tools and other informative resources.

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UPDATED: MAY 6, 2022

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