Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease - Article Example

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Breathing Problems When youre short of breath, its hard or uncomfortable for you to take in the oxygen your body needs. You may feel as if youre not getting enough air. Sometimes mild breathing problems are from a stuffy nose or hard exercise. But shortness of breath can also be a sign of a serious disease. Many conditions can make you feel short of breath. Lung conditions such as asthma, emphysema or pneumonia cause breathing difficulties (NLM, 2009). Heart disease can make you feel breathless if your heart cannot pump enough blood to supply oxygen to your body. Stress caused by anxiety can also make it hard for you to breathe. If you often have trouble breathing, it is important to find out the cause. COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease) Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) makes it hard for you to breathe. Coughing up mucus is often the first sign of COPD. Chronic bronchitis and emphysema are common COPDs (NLM, 2009). Your airways branch out inside your lungs like an upside-down tree. At the end of each branch are small, balloon-like air sacs. In healthy people, both the airways and air sacs are springy and elastic. When you breathe in, each air sac fills with air like a small balloon. The balloon deflates when you exhale. In COPD, your airways and air sacs lose their shape and become floppy, like a stretched-out rubber band. Cigarette smoking is the most common cause of COPD. Breathing in other kinds of irritants, like pollution, dust or chemicals, may also cause or contribute to COPD. Quitting smoking is the best way to avoid developing COPD. Asthma Asthma is a chronic disease that affects your airways. Your airways are tubes that carry air in and out of your lungs. If you have asthma, the inside walls of your airways become sore and swollen. That makes them very sensitive, and they may react strongly to things that you are allergic to or find irritating (NLM, 2009). When your airways react, they get narrower and your lungs get less air. This can cause wheezing, coughing, chest tightness and trouble breathing, especially early in the morning or at night. When your asthma symptoms become worse than usual, its called an asthma attack. In a severe asthma attack, the airways can close so much that your vital organs do not get enough oxygen. People can die from severe asthma attacks. Asthma is treated with two kinds of medicines: Quick-relief medicines to stop asthma symptoms, and Long-term control medicines to prevent symptoms Bronchitis Bronchitis is an inflammation of the main air passages (bronchi) to your lungs. It causes a cough, shortness of breath and chest tightness. Coughing often brings up yellow or greenish mucus. There are two main types of bronchitis: acute and chronic. Acute bronchitis is often caused by the same viruses that cause colds. It usually starts as a sore throat, runny nose or sinus infection, then spreads to your airways. It can cause a lingering dry cough, but it usually goes away on its own. Chronic bronchitis is one type of COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease). The inflamed bronchi produce a lot of mucus. This leads to cough and difficulty getting air in and out of the lungs (NLM, 2009). Cigarette smoking is the most common cause. Breathing in other fumes and dusts over a long period of time may also cause chronic bronchitis. Treatment will help your symptoms, but chronic bronchitis is a long-term condition that keeps coming back or never goes away completely. Emphysema Emphysema is a type of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) involving damage to the air sacs (alveoli) in the lungs. As a result, your body does not get the oxygen it needs. Emphysema makes it hard to catch your breath. You may also have a chronic cough and have trouble breathing during exercise. The most common cause is cigarette smoking. If you smoke, quitting can help prevent you from getting the disease. If you already have emphysema, not smoking might keep it from getting worse. Treatment is based on whether your symptoms are mild, moderate or severe. Treatments include inhalers, oxygen, medications and sometimes surgery to relieve symptoms and prevent complications. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is lung disease that makes it difficult to breathe. There are two main forms of COPD (NLM, 2009a): Chronic bronchitis, which causes long-term swelling and a large amount of mucus in the main airways in the lungs Emphysema, a lung disease that destroys the air sacs in the lungs Most people with COPD have symptoms of both. Causes Smoking is the leading cause of COPD. The more a person smokes, the more likely that person will develop severe bronchitis. Secondhand smoke may also cause chronic bronchitis. Air pollution, infection, and allergies make chronic bronchitis worse. In COPD, less air flows in and out of the airways because of one or more of the following: The airways and air sacs lose their elastic quality. The walls between many of the air sacs are destroyed. The walls of the airways become thick and inflamed (swollen). The airways make more mucus than usual, which tends to clog the airways. In rare cases, nonsmokers who lack a protein called alpha-1 antitrypsin can develop emphysema. Other risk factors for COPD are: Exposure to certain gases or fumes in the workplace Exposure to heavy amounts of secondhand smoke and pollution Frequent use of cooking gas without proper ventilation Symptoms Cough that produces mucus - may be streaked with blood Fatigue Frequent respiratory infections Headaches Shortness of breath (dyspnea) that gets worse with mild activity (NLM, 2009b) Swelling of the ankles, feet, or legs, which affects both sides Wheezing Some people may have few or no symptoms. Exams and Tests The health care provider makes us hear wheezing or abnormal breathing sounds when listening to the chest and lungs with a stethoscope. However, lung sounds can be normal during the exam. In severe cases, a person with COPD can seem anxious and may breathe through pursed lips (the shape lips make when you whistle). During a flare up, the muscles between the ribs contract while the person is breathing in. This is called intercostal retractions. The person will use other muscles to breathe. The number of breaths per minute (respiratory rate) may be high. The best test for COPD is lung function testing. A chest x-ray may show that the lung is expanding too much. A chest CT scan may reveal emphysema. A sample of blood taken from an artery (arterial blood gas) can show low levels of oxygen and high levels of carbon dioxide (respiratory acidosis) (NLM, 2009c). Treatment There is no cure for COPD. However, there are many things you can do to relieve symptoms and keep the disease from getting worse. Persons with COPD must stop smoking. This is the only way to prevent the lung damage from getting worse. Medications used to treat COPD include: Inhalers (bronchodilators) to open the airways, such as ipratropium (Atrovent), tiotropium (Spiriva), salmeterol (Serevent), or formoterol (Foradil) Inhaled steroids to reduce lung inflammation In severe cases or during flare-ups, you may need to receive steroids by mouth or through a vein (intravenously). Antibiotics are prescribed during symptom flare ups, because infections can make COPD worse. Other treatments for COPD include: Breathing support, such as long-term, low-flow oxygen, noninvasive ventilation, or a breathing tube Surgery to remove parts of the diseased lung Who Is At Risk for COPD? The main risk factor for COPD is smoking. Most people who have COPD smoke or used to smoke. People who have a family history of COPD are more likely to get the disease if they smoke (NHLBI, 2009). Long-term exposure to other lung irritants also is a risk factor for COPD. Examples of other lung irritants include air pollution and chemical fumes and dust from the environment or workplace. Most people who have COPD are at least 40 years old when symptoms begin. Although it isnt common, people younger than 40 can have COPD. For example, this may happen if a person has alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency, a genetic condition (NHLBI, 2009a). How Is COPD Diagnosed? Your doctor will diagnose COPD based on your signs and symptoms, your medical and family histories, and test results. He or she may ask whether you smoke or have had contact with lung irritants, such as air pollution, chemical fumes, or dust. If you have an ongoing cough, your doctor may ask how long youve had it, how much you cough, and how much mucus comes up when you cough. He or she also may ask whether you have a family history of COPD. Your doctor will examine you and use a stethoscope to listen for wheezing or other abnormal chest sounds. You also may need one or more tests to diagnose COPD. Lung Function Tests Lung function tests measure how much air you can breathe in and out, how fast you can breathe air out, and how well your lungs can deliver oxygen to your blood. The main test for COPD is spirometry. Other lung function tests, such as a lung diffusing capacity test, also may be used (NHLBI, 2009b). Spirometry During this painless test, a technician will ask you to take a deep breath in and then blow as hard as you can into a tube connected to a small machine. The machine is called a spirometer. The machine measures how much air you breathe out. It also measures how fast you can blow air out. The patient takes a deep breath and then blows hard into a tube connected to a spirometer. The spirometer measures the amount of air exhaled and how fast it was blown out. Other Tests Your doctor may recommend other tests. These tests include: A Chest X-ray or Chest Computed Tomography: These tests create pictures of the structures inside your chest, such as your heart and lungs. The pictures can show signs of COPD. They also may show whether another condition, such as heart failure, is causing your symptoms (NHLBI, 2009c). An arterial blood gas test. This blood test measures the oxygen level in your blood using a sample of blood taken from an artery. The test can help find out how severe your COPD is and whether you may need supplemental oxygen therapy. References: 1. NHLBI (2009). ‘What is COPD’? National Heart Lung and Blood Institute Diseases and Conditions Index. Retrieved from http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/Copd/Copd_WhatIs.html 2. NHLBI (2009a). What Is Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency? National Heart Lung and Blood Institute Diseases and Conditions Index. Retrieved from http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/aat/aat_whatis.html 3. NHLBI (2009b). What Are Lung Function Tests? National Heart Lung and Blood Institute Diseases and Conditions Index. Retrieved from http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/lft/lft_whatare.html 4. NHLBI (2009c). What Is Chest X-Ray? National Heart Lung and Blood Institute Diseases and Conditions Index. Retrieved from http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/cxray/cxray_whatis.html 5. NLM (2009). ‘Our Health Topics’. U.S. National Library of Medicine and the National Institute of Health. Retrieved from http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/all_healthtopics.html. 6. NLM (2009a). ‘Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease’. U.S. National Library of Medicine and the National Institute of Health. Retrieved from http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000091.htm. 7. NLM (2009b). ‘Breathing difficulty’. U.S. National Library of Medicine and the National Institute of Health. Retrieved from http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/003075.htm 8. NLM (2009c). ‘Respiratory Acidosis’. U.S. National Library of Medicine and the National Institute of Health. Retrieved from http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000092.htm Read More