You may not have heard of it, but chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is more common than people think. This breathing difficulty eventually strikes more than one in 10 Americans.

Many people who have this noncontagious disease don’t even know it. But diagnosis is easy, and once you receive treatment, life can become a whole lot easier.

Who Gets COPD?
As many as one in five COPD patients has never smoked. Simply breathing smoky or polluted air can obstruct the small air passages in the lungs, interfere with breathing, and contribute to the disease. COPD has several telltale symptoms, including:

• A persistent cough with mucus
• Shortness of breath while exercising
• Wheezing
• Tightness in the chest

If you have these symptoms, call your doctor. A breathing test called spirometry can confirm the COPD diagnosis by seeing how much air your lungs can hold and how well you exhale after a deep breath. Other tests, including a chest X-ray, can show signs of COPD and help rule out other causes for your symptoms, such as heart failure.

Finding Relief
To slow the course of this incurable disease, the best thing you can do is to quit smoking. Steer clear of secondhand smoke and other irritants such as pollution and dust.

Medicines to ease your breathing include bronchodilators that open up your air passages and make it easier to exercise, and inhaled steroids that cut inflammation. You may also undergo pulmonary rehabilitation. This includes exercise training and education about how to do daily activities. People with severe COPD may require supplemental oxygen.

If you have COPD, avoid further stress on your lungs from infections such as flu or pneumonia. Talk with your doctor about getting the pneumonia vaccine and remember your yearly flu shot.

Get the Latest News
For recent news and more about COPD, visit www.paramounthealthcare.com. Click on “Better Health for Life” and then search for “COPD.”