ABOUT COPD

COPD stands for "chronic obstructive pulmonary disease." It is a condition in which the flow of air through the lungs is limited due to chronic bronchitis or emphysema. COPD is a progressive illness, which means that symptoms are usually mild at first, but become worse over time. The following symptoms develop:

• shortness of breath
• coughing with sputum production in the morning
• wheezing
• more and more effort to get air in and out of the lungs
• fatigue and weakness
• late in the illness, morning headaches weight loss and swelling of the legs

Symptoms may also temporarily worsen and prompt you to seek medical advice and require additional treatments or hospital admission. We will call these flare-ups or acute exacerbations.

All these factors can influence how you feel and contribute to your quality of your life. Eventually death can occur when the function of the lungs and heart is no longer adequate to deliver oxygen to the body's organs and tissues.

However, if patients work closely with their health care providers, they can improve the course of the disease. For this purpose there are different treatment alternatives that we will present on the next page.

Please click on the NEXT BUTTON to continue