COPD

COPD, or Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, is a progressive disease that makes it hard to breathe. "Progressive" means the disease gets worse over time. COPD can cause coughing that produces large amounts of mucus, wheezing, shortness of breath, chest tightness, and other symptoms.

COPD develops slowly and symptoms often get worse over time. Severe COPD may prevent you from doing even normal everyday activities like walking, cooking, or taking care of yourself. Most of the time, COPD is diagnosed in middle-aged or older people, although it can be diagnosed in younger adults.

Cigarette smoking is the leading cause of COPD, although certainly not the only cause. Most people who have COPD smoke, used to smoke, or have been exposed to second-hand smoke for extensive periods, and are at risk. Long-term exposure to other lung irritants, such as air pollution, asbestos, chemical fumes, or dust, also may contribute to COPD.

Overview

To understand COPD, it helps to understand how the lungs work. The air that you breathe goes down your windpipe into tubes in your lungs called bronchial tubes, or airways. The airways are shaped like an upside-down tree with many branches with tiny air sacs called alveoli at the ends. The airways and air sacs are elastic. When you breathe in, each air sac fills up with air like a small balloon. When you breathe out, the air sac deflates.