Chronic Obstruction In Airways Leads To COPD

According to Wrongdiagnosis.com, approximately 13.5 million Americans are currently suffering from Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease or COPD. This condition comprises of three related problems: Chronic bronchitis, chronic asthma and emphysema. What is common to all these conditions is that there is a chronic obstruction of the flow of air through the airways and out of the lungs. Also the obstruction is generally permanent and may enhance over time. According to World Health Organization (WHO) estimates, 300 million people suffer from asthma and thousands of people die every year because of this condition.

Asthma or COPD?
Asthma differs from COPD in that it features obstruction to the flow of air out of the lungs and usually this obstruction is reversible. In between two asthma attacks, the flow of air through the airways is generally normal. Such a condition is not COPD. Asthma if left untreated can turn into COPD with the chronic inflammation causing the obstruction to become permanent. So asthma patients having a fixed component of airway obstruction are also considered to have COPD.

Factors Causing COPD
Most of the times COPD is a result of long term exposure to lung irritants that damage the lungs and the airways. The most common factor that leads to COPD in the United States is smoking cigarettes. While the smokers themselves may not have COPD, inhalers of smoke emanating from a pipe, cigar, cigarette, or any other type of tobacco product have high chances of having COPD. Smokers having COPD are bound to have frequent respiratory problems such as coughing and shortness of breath. Their lung function is also likely to deteriorate at a faster rate. Cigarette smoking damages the lungs in the form of inflammation of cells and release of elastse, an enzyme that leads to breakage of elastic fibers in the lung tissue.

Air pollution especially indoor pollution due to cooking on stoves can worsen the lung problems of a person and lead to COPD. Other pollutants like cadmium and silica also increase the risk of COPD amongst people already suffering from lung problems.

In some rare cases, a genetic condition called the deficiency of Alpha-1 antitrypsin, a protein made in the liver, can cause COPD. This protein can actually block the damaging effects of elastase and its absence is harmful for people who smoke or are exposed to other lung irritants.

Symptoms of COPD
People suffering from COPD witness the following symptoms.

• Shortness of breath and frequent lung infections is the most common symptom of a person suffering from COPD.


• Chronic cough and production of thick sputum or mucus

Once the COPD advances, the patients may witness additional symptoms such as:

• Bluish discoloration of the lips and nail beds due to lack of oxygen in the blood


• Morning headaches due to inability to remove carbon dioxide


• Inability to eat more food and thus weight reduction


• Coughing up of blood. This symptom is usually indicative of lung cancer


• Increased blood pressure in the lungs putting pressure on the heart. This may lead to heart failure.

Diagnosis of COPD
COPD is diagnosed on the basis of a physical examination, conduction of certain tests and an analysis of symptoms witnessed by a person. Apart from the identification of various symptoms of COPD, a physical examination may reveal enlarged chest activity, and wheezing. Some major tests that are required to be conducted to check whether a patient has COPD include an X-ray of the chest, CAT or CT Scan of the chest, Pulmonary Function Tests and the measurement of Carbon Dioxide an Oxygen levels in the blood. A six minute walking test is also very effective in monitoring COPD.

Several treatments are available for improving the lung functions of a patient and alleviating the symptoms associated with COPD. Advair Diskus is a prescription drug that has a combination of Salmeterol, a bronchodilator of the beta-2 agonist type and fluticasone propionate, an anti-inflammatory corticosteroid.