COPD / EPOC in English

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

What is COPD?

COPD stands for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. This name includes conditions such as emphysema, which affects the air sacs in the lungs (alveoli) and chronic bronchitis, which affects the bronchi. A person who has COPD may have just one of these conditions or both of them.

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease is a progessive disease where the airways become inflamed and the air sacs in the lungs are damaged, this causes the airways (bronchis) to become narrower, which makes it harder to breathe.

Causes:

The main cause of COPD is smoking. The condition usually affects people over the age of 35 who are, or have been, heavy smokers. Long-term exposure to other lung irritants (such as air pollution, dust or chemical fumes) may also contribute to developing COPD. Another condition that may cause COPd is severe asthma.

COPD can be inherited, although this is very unusual, there is a genetic condition called Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency that causes damage to the lungs.

Symptoms:

Symptoms may include any of the following:

• Cough, with or without mucus
• Fatigue
• Frequent respiratory infections
• Shortness of breath (dyspnea) that worsens with mild activity
• Trouble catching one's reath
• Wheezing, particularly breathing out

Because the symptoms develop slowly, some people may not know that they have COPD.

People eith severe COPD may experience weight loss or ankle swelling or loss of appetite.

Diagnosis:

The best test for diagnosing COPD is a lung test called spirometry. This measures the size of your lungs and the amount of air flowing in and out of your lungs. The results can be checked straight away.

Other tests that may be performed are: listening to the patient's lungs with a stethoscope, x-rays and CT scans and arterial blood gas analysis.

All of these tests may not show signs of COPD even if a patient does have it.

Treatment:

Unfortunately, there is no cure for COPD, but there are many things you can do to help manage your condition, improve your symptoms and live an active life.

The most important treatment is to stop smoking.

Medicines used to treat COPD include:

• Inhalers (bronchodilators) to help open the airways
• Inhaled or oral steroids to reuce lung inflamation
• Anti-inflammatory drugs to reduce swelling in the airways
• Certain long-term antibiotics

In severe cases or during flare-ups, you may need to receive:

• Oral or intravenous steroids
• Bronchodilators through a nebulizer
• Oxygen therapy
• Sometimes, antibiotics to avoid infections

Possible complications:

Possible other health problems in relation with COPD:

• Arrhythmia
• Need for breathing machine and oxygen therapy
• Cor pulmonale and heart failure
• pneumonia
• Pneumothorax
• Severe weight loss and malnutrition
• Osteoporisis
• Debilitation
• Increases anxiety

This information was obtained from:

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

COPD