Vol. 9, Issue 1 (2020)

COPD is a progressive and (currently) incurable disease, but with the right diagnosis and treatment, there are many things you can do to manage your COPD and breathe better. People can live for many years with COPD and enjoy life. This is in contrast to the variable airways obstruction seen in asthma which can be reversed by drug treatment. The airflow obstruction in COPD is due to damage to the lung structure and destruction of lung tissue (emphysema). This is normally due to smoking, but recurrent infection also contributes to the process. Whilst preventable (COPD is mainly caused by smoking) and increasingly treatable, the airflow obstruction seen in COPD is usually progressive. More recently the systemic effects of more severe COPD have been recognized, including weight loss, nutritional disturbances and abnormal skeletal muscle function. There are different types of COPD.

Each type may affect how well different treatments work, how your symptoms affect your everyday life, and how they progress. If you have another health condition in addition to COPD (co-morbidity), such as high blood pressure, heart disease, heartburn, depression, or diabetes, this can also affect your COPD and how it is managed. Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) COPD stands for chronic obstructive pulmonary (lung) disease. COPD is a term applied to a family of diseases that includes emphysema, chronic bronchitis, and emphysema due to alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency. The symptoms, causes, and diagnosis of COPD are discussed.