What is COPD?Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) refers to a group of lung diseases that are associated with difficulty in breathing due to airway obstruction and/or poor blood oxygenation due to damaged alveoli (air sacs of the lung tissue).
COPD is the fourth leading cause of death in the United States and Canada. It affects approximately 15 million Americans and causes 100,000 deaths each year. Ninety percent of all COPD cases are caused by chronic cigarette smoking. However a small percentage of individuals with emphysema have an inherited type of disease or disease of an unknown cause.
Early in the disease, symptoms may be obvious only when you have a "chest cold" or during strenuous physical exertion. In between these periods, you may feel quite well and be free of symptoms. Unfortunately your COPD will progress silently over time, causing ever more permanent lung damage, especially if you continue to smoke cigarettes. Eventually symptoms of coughing, shortness of breath and wheezing become more frequent and disabling, requiring you to use supplemental oxygen to carry out simple everyday chores. In the worst cases, COPD causes heart failure, and you can ultimately succumb to your disease.
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