Introduction

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a long-term lung condition that happens because of lung damage. This damage leads to swelling and irritation also known as inflammation, inside the airways. This limits airflow in and out of the lungs. Doctors call this limited airflow obstruction. People with COPD struggle to breathe, cough up mucus daily, and often hear a tight whistling sound in their lungs called wheezing.

Symptoms

COPD symptoms often don't show up until the lungs have suffered a lot of damage. These symptoms get worse as time passes if a person keeps smoking or exposing themselves to other irritants. COPD symptoms might include:

• Struggling to catch your breath when you're active.
• Breathing that sounds like wheezing or whistling.
• A persistent cough that might produce lots of mucus. The mucus could be clear, white, yellow, or greenish.
• Feeling like your chest is tight or heavy
• Feeling drained or tired
• Getting lung infections often
• Dropping weight without trying. This might happen as your condition gets worse.
• Swelling in your ankles, feet, or legs
• People with COPD are also likely to experience periods when their symptoms get worse than usual (flare-ups). These symptoms may include:
• Breathing becomes difficult or you struggle to catch your breath.
• Chest feels tight.
• You cough more
• Mucus production increases or changes colour or consistency
• Fever

Causes

Smoking tobacco stands out as the primary cause of COPD in developed nations. In developing countries, COPD often affects people who breathe in fumes from fuel burned to cook and heat ventilated homes. Extended exposure to chemical fumes, vapors, and dust in workplaces also leads to COPD.

Risk Factors

Several factors increase your chances of developing COPD:

• Tobacco smoke: Cigarette smoking for a long time poses the greatest risk for COPD. Your risk goes up with the number of years and packs you smoke. Smoking pipes, cigars, and marijuana can also increase your risk. People who breathe in a lot of secondhand smoke are at risk of COPD as well.
• Asthma: Asthma causes your airways to narrow and swell, and they might produce extra mucus. When you have asthma & smoke, your risk of COPD goes up even more. Workplace exposure: Chemical fumes, smoke, vapours and dusts in the workplace can irritate lungs over time. This swells the lungs and increases the chance of COPD.
• Genetics: A gene change that runs in families causes AAT deficiency, which leads to COPD in some people. This genetic type of emphysema is rare. Other genetic factors might make some smokers more prone to COPD.

Complications

COPD has the potential to bring about several complications such as:

• Respiratory infections: COPD patients catch colds, flu, and pneumonia more often. These infections make breathing harder and can harm lung tissue further. Heart issues: COPD increases the risk of heart disease, including heart attacks.
• Lung cancer: Having COPD puts you at greater risk of developing lung cancer.
• Pulmonary hypertension: COPD can cause high blood pressure in the arteries that supply blood to the lungs.
• Anxiety and depression: Trouble breathing can stop you from doing things you like. Having a serious health problem like COPD can also make you feel anxious and depressed at times.

Diagnosis

To diagnose your condition, your doctor reviews your symptoms and asks about your family & medical history and any exposure you've had to lung irritants — cigarette smoke. Your doctor performs a physical exam that includes listening to your lungs. You may also undergo some of these tests to diagnose your condition-

Pulmonary function tests:

• Spirometry
• Lung volume test
• Lung diffusion test
• Pulse oximetry
• Exercise stress test
• Imaging:
• Chest X-ray
• CT scan
• Lab tests:
• Arterial blood gas analysis
• Testing to check for AAT deficiency
• Blood test

Treatment

Doctors base treatment on how bad your symptoms are and how often you have flare-ups. Effective therapy can control symptoms, slow down the disease's progress, cut the risk of complications, and help you lead an active life. This includes:

• Stopping smoking
• Medicines
• Bronchodilators
• Inhaled steroids
• Combination inhalers - Some combination inhalers have more than one type of bronchodilator.
• Oral steroids
• Phosphodiesterase-4 inhibitors
• Theophylline
• Antibiotics

Therapies:

• Oxygen therapy
• Pulmonary rehabilitation program
• In-home noninvasive ventilation therapy
• Surgery:
• Lung volume reduction surgery
• Endoscopic lung volume reduction
• Lung transplant
• Bullectomy