COPD Center
Patient Information

What is COPD?

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) includes emphysema and chronic bronchitis; diseases that are characterized by obstruction to air flow especially when breathing out. Emphysema and chronic bronchitis frequently coexist. Thus physicians prefer the term COPD. It does not typically include other obstructive diseases such as asthma. COPD, which is the fourth leading cause of death, soon to become the 3rd leading cause of death ahead of all cancers, claims the lives of 117,522 Americans annually.
Approximately 85 percent of COPD cases are caused by smoking; a smoker is 10 times more likely than a nonsmoker to die of COPD. Occupational exposure to certain industrial pollutants increases the odds for COPD. A recent study found that the fraction of COPD attributed to work was estimated as 19.2%. Symptoms of chronic bronchitis include chronic cough, increased mucus, frequent clearing of the throat and shortness of breath. Emphysema causes irreversible lung damage. The walls between the air sacs within the lungs lose their ability to stretch and recoil. They become weakened and break. Elasticity of the lung tissue is lost, causing air to be trapped in the air sacs and impairing the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide. Also, the support of the airways is lost, contributing to the obstruction of airflow. Emphysema due to alpha-1antitrypsin deficiency is an inherited form of the disease that is caused by the deficiency of a protein called alpha-1 antitrypsin (AAT) or alpha-1 protease inhibitor. AAT, produced by the liver, is a "lung protector." In the absence of AAT, emphysema is almost inevitable. It is responsible for 5% or less of the emphysema in the United States.

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