The main symptom of emphysema is shortness of breath, which is caused by permanent damage to the small air sacs and small airways in the lungs.
COPD develops slowly, and people are often not diagnosed with it until their 50s, when the disease has greatly affected their lung function.
You take an average of 16 breaths every minute. It's a reflex—you don't pay attention unless there's a problem. But a rising number of us literally can't catch our breath.
As someone with COPD, you may find it helpful to know about the four components of care described in the GOLD guidelines.
A short glossary of terms associated with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
When you breathe in tobacco smoke or other irritants, they cause your airways to become inflamed and narrowed, says the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. The irritants also destroy the elastic fibers that allow the lungs to stretch with each breath and then resume their shape when you exhale.