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COPD can cause coughing that produces large amounts of a slimy substance called mucus . It can also cause breathing problems, shortness of breath, chest tightness, and other symptoms . Because COPD is a progressive disease, its symptoms often develop slowly but worsen over time and can limit your ability to do routine activities.
Common symptoms of COPD include: Shortness of breath, especially with physical activity. You may feel like breathing takes more effort or that you are gasping for air. An ongoing cough or a cough that produces a lot of mucus , sometimes called a smoker’s cough. This is often the first symptom of COPD.
Alpha-1 antitrypsin (AAT) deficiency is a condition that raises your risk for lung and other diseases. AAT is a protein made in your liver to help protect the lungs. If your body does not make enough AAT, your lungs are more easily damaged from smoking, pollution, or dust from the environment. This can lead to COPD or bronchiectasis, another ...
Smoking: This is the main risk factor for COPD. Three out of four people who have COPD smoke or used to smoke. People who have a family history of COPD are more likely to develop the disease if they smoke. Other lung irritants: These may include long-term exposure to air pollution, chemical fumes and dust from the environment or workplace ...
This guide provides an overview of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), its symptoms, how it affects breathing, and how it's diagnosed and treated. It can be used by health care professionals to have a dialogue with patients or as a general handout to raise awareness about COPD. Print Length:
Medicines to treat COPD symptoms include bronchodilators and steroids or nonsteroid medicines that reduce inflammation . A new add-on medicine approved in 2024 may help to control your disease. Your healthcare provider may prescribe an inhaler for you to always carry. Inhalers allow the medicine to go straight to your lungs.
COPD Journey Series. This video series, COPD Journey: From Learning More to Breathing Better, features NHLBI scientists talking about COPD, its diagnosis, management, and prevalence, as well as the COPD National Action Plan and the Institute’s commitment to reducing the burden of the disease. Share these videos on social media using #COPDjourney.
The main test for COPD is spirometry. It can detect COPD before symptoms are recognized. Your provider may also use the test results to find out how serious your COPD is and help set your treatment goals. Spirometry is a lung function test that measures how much air you breathe out and how fast you can blow air out.
Asthma is a chronic (long-term) lung disease that inflames and tightens the airways. Asthma treatments usually can reverse the inflammation and narrowing. However, in the presence of COPD, much of the reversibility is lost. At first, COPD may cause no symptoms or only mild symptoms. As the disease gets worse, symptoms usually become more severe.
Managing COPD Learn healthy living tips to help manage COPD symptoms. Join a COPD self-management program. Ask your healthcare provider for a program that will help you learn about COPD and interventions that can make it easier to manage the disease and have a better quality of life. This might help you deal with fatigue , for example.