Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)

Introduction to Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD or COLD)

Many acute respiratory conditions can become chronic, particularly when aggravated by environmental factors such as cigarette smoke or air pollution.

Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (COLD), also called chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), is the preferred medical terminology for a group of diseases that share a common feature - difficulty in expelling air from the lungs. The three diseases most commonly labeled COLD or COPD are asthma, chronic bronchitis, and emphysema.

COPD is the most common pulmonary dysfunction today. According to the 1993 National Health Interview Survey, 25.4 million Americans have COPD. Estimates suggest that 13.3 million (53.4 % ) have a chronic bronchitic form. Ten million (40.5% ) have an asthmatic type, and 2.1 million (8.5 % ) have emphysema.

  Asthma

Asthma is marked by episodes of acute wheezing with shortness of breath, variable cough, and reversible airflow obstruction. In patients with asthma some irritant causes the muscles of the bronchial tubes to spasm and narrow, and there is a noted increase in the production of mucus. When these occur, the asthma patient experiences shortness of breath, coughing, and wheezing. Asthma is almost always a medically treatable, medically controllable disease.

The mainstay of asthma therapy is the use of inhaled bronchodilators and inhaled anti-inflammatory medications. Causes of asthma have been linked to heredity factors and it is clear that smoking, air pollution, exposure to dust and fumes, and lung infection make asthma worse.

  Chronic Bronchitis

Chronic bronchitis is characterized by chronic cough and sputum production, intermittent wheezing with variable degrees of shortness of breath on exertion, recurring and continuing for months. Chronic bronchitis results from inflammation and swelling of the cells which line the bronchus. This inflammation causes the production of excessive mucus. Both the swelling and excess mucus contribute to the narrowing of the bronchi, making air exchange more difficult and increasing the risk of lung infections for the patient.

Airflow obstruction in chronic bronchitis is usually partially reversible. Therapy in chronic bronchitis centers on inhaled bronchodiltators, particularly atropine derivatives, antibiotics, and occasionally steroid medication for flare-ups. Tendency to develop chronic bronchitis is considered hereditary, but the disease is clearly worsened by smoking, air pollution, exposure to dust and fumes, and lung infections.

  Emphysema

Emphysema reduces the normal elasticity of the lung that helps to hold the airways open. Those with emphysema experience progressive shortness of breath on exertion, variable degrees of coughing and wheezing, and irreversible airflow obstruction.

Emphysema is a progressive destructive lung disease in which the walls between the tiny air sacs in the lungs are damaged. As a result, the lungs lose their elasticity and breathing out becomes more and more difficult. Air remains trapped in the overinflated lungs. Emphysema patients report increasing shortness of breath, especially with activity. Heredity is thought to play a part in the tendency to develop emphysema but the disease is clearly worsened by smoking, air pollution, exposure to dust and fumes and lung infections.