A QUICK GUIDE ON
Chronic Obstructive
Pulmonary Disease
COPD, or chronic obstructive Most often, COPD occurs in people
pulmonary disease, is a serious lung age 40 and over who…
disease that over time makes it hard • Have a history of smoking
to breathe. Other names for COPD include • Have had long-term exposure to lung irritants
chronic bronchitis or emphysema. such as air pollution, chemical fumes, or dust
from the environment or workplace
COPD, a leading cause of death,
affects millions of Americans and causes
• Have a rare genetic condition called alpha-1
antitrypsin (AAT) deficiency
long-term disability.
• Have a combination of any of the above
MAJOR COPD RISK FACTORS
history of
SMOKING
AGE
40+
RARE
GENETIC
CONDITION
alpha-1 antitrypsin
(AAT) deficiency LONG-TERM
exposure to
lung irritants
WHAT IS COPD?
To understand what COPD is, we first The airways and air sacs are elastic
need to understand how respiration (stretchy). When breathing in, each air sac
and the lungs work: fills up with air like a small balloon. When
breathing out, the air sacs deflate and the air
When air is breathed in, it goes down the goes out.
windpipe into tubes in the lungs called bronchial
tubes or airways. Within the lungs, bronchial In COPD, less air flows in and out of
tubes branch into thousands of smaller, thinner the airways because of one or more
tubes called bronchioles. These tubes end in of the following:
bunches of tiny round air sacs called alveoli. • The airways and air sacs lose their
elastic quality.
Small blood vessels called capillaries run through
• The walls between many of the air sacs
the walls of the air sacs. When air reaches the air
are destroyed.
sacs, oxygen passes through the air sac walls into
the blood in the capillaries. At the same time, • The walls of the airways become thick
carbon dioxide (the respiration waste gas) moves and inflamed.
from the capillaries into the air sacs. This process • The airways make more mucus than usual,
is called gas exchange. which can clog them.
GAS EXCHANGE COPD DECREASES AIR FLOW AND GAS
IN A LUNG EXCHANGE IN THE LUNGS
bronchial bronchial
tubes/ tubes/
airways airways
alveoli/
air sacs
alveoli/
air sacs
HOW DOES COPD
AFFECT BREATHING?
In emphysema, the walls between many of the At first, COPD may cause no
air sacs are damaged. As a result, the air sacs symptoms or only mild symptoms.
lose their shape and become floppy. This damage
also can destroy the walls of the air sacs, leading As the disease gets worse, symptoms usually
to fewer and larger air sacs instead of many become more severe. When symptoms are mild,
tiny ones. If this happens, the amount of gas they may not be noticed right away and people
exchange in the lungs is reduced. may adjust their lifestyle to make breathing
easier. For example, taking the elevator instead
In chronic bronchitis, the lining of the airways is of the stairs.
constantly irritated and inflamed. This causes the
lining to thicken. Lots of thick mucus forms in the COMMON SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS
airways, making it hard to breathe. OF COPD INCLUDE:
Most people who have COPD have a variable CONSTANT COUGH
combination of both emphysema and chronic
bronchitis. Thus, the general term “COPD” is SHORTNESS OF BREATH
more accurate. doing everyday activities
Some people who have asthma can also develop CAN’T BREATHE DEEP
COPD. Asthma is a chronic (long-term) lung
disease that inflames and tightens the airways. EXCESS SPUTUM
Asthma treatments usually can reverse the
inflammation and narrowing. However, in the
WHEEZING
presence of COPD, much of the reversibility is lost.
CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE PULMONARY DISEASE
CHRONIC BRONCHITIS EMPHYSEMA
healthy inflammation healthy alveolar membranes
& excess mucus break down
COPD: EMPHYSEMA, CHRONIC
BRONCHITIS, AND SYMPTOMS
COPD diagnosis is based on: There currently is no cure for COPD. Lifestyle
changes and treatments can greatly improve
• Signs and symptoms: chronic cough, excess
a patient’s quality of life and allow them to
sputum
stay more active and slow the progression of
• Personal and medical history: smoking the disease.
history or exposure to lung irritants, such as
secondhand smoke, air pollution, chemical Treatment options may include:
fumes, or dust
• Medications: bronchodilators, inhaled steroids,
• Test results: lung function tests, spirometry anti-inflammatory agents
• Pulmonary rehabilitation
Lung function tests measure how much air is
breathed in and out, how fast air is breathed out, • Physical activity training
and how well lungs deliver oxygen to the blood. • Oxygen supplementation
• Surgery
The main lung function test for COPD is
spirometry but other tests, such as a lung
Lifestyle changes may include:
diffusion capacity test, also might be used.
Spirometry can detect COPD before symptoms • Avoiding lung irritants, such as smoke and
become severe. It is a simple, non-invasive pollutants
breathing test that measures the amount of air • Getting ongoing care, including:
a person can blow out of the lungs (volume) • Visiting a healthcare provider regularly
and how fast he or she can blow it out (flow).
• Taking medications as directed
The test helps detect COPD and its severity
and can also find out whether other conditions, • Getting flu (influenza), pneumococcal, and
such as asthma or heart failure, are causing the COVID-19 vaccines as recommended by a
symptoms. healthcare provider
• Monitoring activities and symptoms
Other tests may include:
• Preparing for disease flare-ups
• Chest x-ray or chest CT scan
• Arterial blood gas test
COPD: DIAGNOSIS AND
TREATMENT OPTIONS
For more information and resources, visit the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute’s
Learn More Breathe Better® website at COPD.nhlbi.nih.gov.
@BreatheBetter @BreatheBetter
NIH Publication No. 22-HL-8081 Learn More Breathe Better® is a
March 2022 registered trademark of HHS.
