Oct 4, 2024 · How Does A COPD Diagnosis Affect Your Loved Ones? Learn what a COPD diagnosis means for your family, why it’s important for caregivers to take care of themselves, and how other family members can be supportive. Discuss your smoking habits or whether you have had contact with secondhand smoke, air pollution, chemical fumes, or dust.

Oct 4, 2024 · At first, COPD may cause no symptoms or only mild symptoms. As the disease gets worse, symptoms usually become more serious. There may be times when symptoms suddenly worsen — known as a flare-up or an exacerbation — because of triggers such as an infection or something in the environment like dust or smoke.

Oct 6, 2024 · The best way to prevent COPD is to quit smoking or, if you don’t smoke, not to start. Also try to avoid lung irritants that can contribute to COPD, such as air pollution, chemical fumes, dust, and secondhand smoke. Smoking is the leading cause of COPD. If you smoke, talk with your provider about programs and products that can help you quit.

Oct 4, 2024 · Causes and Risk Factors of COPD Learn about NHLBI research to help understand why some people get COPD or get more severe COPD than others.

Feb 14, 2023 · Common COPD symptoms include coughing, shortness of breath, wheezing or whistling in the chest, and chest tightness or heaviness. People with more advanced cases may experience limitations with regular activities due to increased risks for lung infections, like the flu or pneumonia, which can cause COPD flare-ups or exacerbations.

Nov 8, 2024 · COPD Basics Learn who is at risk for COPD, what symptoms to watch for, and how the disease affects the lungs. COPD, or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, is a condition caused by damage to the airways or other parts of the lung. This damage leads to inflammation and other problems that block airflow and make it hard to breathe.

Oct 6, 2024 · Treatments include quitting smoking and using bronchodilators, steroids, pulmonary rehabilitation, and oxygen therapy. For severe cases, surgery and lung transplants may be an option.

Jan 7, 2025 · The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute’s Learn More Breathe Better SM Community Subcontract Program is seeking proposals from organizations around the country focused on educational initiatives and programs aimed at increasing awareness about chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and that support the implementation of the COPD …

Jul 17, 2023 · People with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) appear to benefit most from using a daily inhaler that’s the current recommended treatment for frequent symptoms and flare-ups. After reviewing health insurance data from more than 60,000 adults with COPD, researchers found those who used a combination therapy of long-acting muscarinic …

Jun 6, 2022 · Poor sleep is associated with a significantly increased risk of life-threatening flare-ups in people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD, according to a new study supported by the National Institutes of Health.