Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
hideChronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) refers to chronic bronchitis and emphysema, a pair of two commonly co-existing diseases of the lungs in which the airways become narrowed. This leads to a limitation of the flow of air to and from the lungs causing shortness of breath. In contrast to asthma, the limitation of airflow is poorly reversible and usually gets progressively worse over time.
COPD is caused by noxious particles or gas, most commonly from smoking, which trigger an abnormal inflammatory response in the lung. The inflammatory response in the larger airways is known as chronic bronchitis, which is diagnosed clinically when people regularly cough up sputum. In the alveoli, the inflammatory response causes destruction of the tissues of the lung, a process known as emphysema. The natural course of COPD is characterized by occasional sudden worsenings of symptoms called acute exacerbations, most of which are caused by infections or air pollution.
The diagnosis of COPD requires lung function tests. Important management strategies are smoking cessation, vaccinations, rehabilitation, and drug therapy (often using inhalers). Some patients go on to requiring long-term oxygen therapy or lung transplantation.
Worldwide, COPD ranked sixth as the cause of death in 1990. It is projected to be the third leading cause of death worldwide by 2020 due to an increase in smoking rates and demographic changes in many countries. COPD is the 4th leading cause of death in the U.S., and the economic burden of COPD in the U.S. in 2007 was $42.6 billion in health care costs and lost productivity.
COPD is also known as chronic obstructive lung disease (COLD), chronic obstructive airway disease (COAD), chronic airflow limitation (CAL) and chronic obstructive respiratory disease.
For more information about Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
News tagged with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
Survey: Awareness of COPD is rising, but understanding is still low
Nov 02, 2009 |
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Awareness of COPD—chronic obstructive pulmonary disease—continues to grow in the United States, according to national survey results released today by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) of the National ...
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Medication improves health of patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension
Nov 17, 2009 |
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In one of the few studies of the long-term effects of medication in the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) disease, a team of researchers found the health and exercise capacity of PAH patients improved after ...
New treatment option emerging for some with early stage lung cancer
Nov 04, 2009 |
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Patients with early stage, non-small cell lung cancer who are not able to undergo surgery, now have a highly effective treatment option. Physicians say that option, radical stereotactic radiosurgery performed with CyberKnife, ...
Drug for erectile dysfunction improves heart function in young heart-disease patients
Nov 18, 2009 |
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Heart function significantly improved in children and young adults with single-ventricle congenital heart disease who have had the Fontan operation following treatment with sildenafil, a drug used to treat erectile dysfunction ...
Catheter-delivered Valve May Help People with Heart Defects Avoid Multiple Surgeries
Nov 02, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Children born with certain heart defects have impaired blood flow from the right ventricle to the pulmonary artery leading to the lungs, requiring implanted devices (known as right-ventricular ...
Sleep apnea may cause heart disease in kidney transplant patients
Nov 19, 2009 |
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Sleep apnea is common in individuals who receive a kidney transplant and is associated with increased risk of high blood pressure, heart disease or stroke, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Clinical Jo ...
Toward explaining why hepatitis B hits men harder than women
Nov 18, 2009 |
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Scientists in China are reporting discovery of unusual liver proteins, found only in males, that may help explain the long-standing mystery of why the hepatitis B virus (HBV) sexually discriminates -- hitting ...
Scientists discover cells that control inflammation in chronic disease
Nov 17, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- A new type of immune cell that can be out of control in certain chronic inflammatory diseases, worsening the symptoms of conditions like psoriasis and asthma, is described for the first time ...
Managing doctors' practices made easier with new software
Nov 25, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- A McMaster University-led research team has developed an innovative software tool that gives family doctors up-to-date information on their patients in two seconds or less.
High blood pressure easy to miss in children with kidney disease
Nov 20, 2009 |
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Spot blood pressure readings in children with chronic kidney disease often fail to detect hypertension - even during doctor's office visits — increasing a child's risk for serious heart problems, according to research from ...
Lung tissue generated from human embryonic stem cells
Nov 05, 2009 |
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Scientists in Belgium have successfully differentiated human embryonic stem cells (hESC) into major cell types of lung epithelial tissue using a convenient air-liquid interface. The technique, published in BioMed Central's ...
List of search results for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
