Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD, is a progressively worsening disease that causes difficulty breathing. The disease includes chronic bronchitis, a chronic cough with mucus lasting at least three months, and emphysema, abnormal...
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a lung disorder characterized by emphysema and chronic bronchitis. This means the walls between the tiny air sacs in the lungs become damaged and lose their elasticity. In addition, the lining of the...
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD, is a condition where airflow is persistently blocked on exhalation. Air becomes trapped in the lungs, which increases the effort required to breath. The disease is commonly associated with emphysema...
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is a constant obstruction of the airways that often occurs with emphysema or chronic bronchitis, according to the Merck Manuals Online Medical Library. Cigarette smoking seems to be the main cause, but...
COPD, also known as chronic obstructive pulomonary disease, is a condition affecting your lung's ability to intake air effectively. This breathing condition has no known cure and is progressive, meaning it gets worse as time passes by, according...
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, also called COPD, causes breathing problems that get progressively worse over time, according to the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute. Smoking is the leading cause of COPD. Air pollution, chemical...
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD, affects 12 million Americans, according to the Merck Manual, and is the second most common cause of death. COPD also runs second only to heart disease as a cause of disability that affects people...
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD, is a general term used for medical conditions that make it challenging to breathe. This includes diseases such as asthma, emphysema, chronic bronchitis and other conditions that obstruct the airways....
Often referred to as COPD for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, emphysema is a chronic condition affecting the lungs that the Mayo Clinic claims is a leading cause of death and illness worldwide. Primarily caused by long-term smoking,...
Complications of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD, most often involve the lungs and the heart, as they work in unison to provide oxygen to the body. Warning signs of impending complications may include shortness of breath, wheezing,...
The lungs, an organ of the respiratory system, function to intake air, exchange gases and exhale waste produced by cells. As the lungs expand, air enters the mouth and nose, travels through the trachea, enters the bronchi that branch into a series...
Many people who experience chronic lung diseases may think that they cannot exercise. However, engaging in a regular exercise program is very important for improving your quality of life and helping to alleviate shortness of breath. Individuals at...
Spirometry tests evaluate your ability to breathe. Your doctor ordered a spirometry test to determine the extent of COPD, or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or other respiratory conditions, and she might use this test during office visits...
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a medical term used to describe a collection of lung diseases that include emphysema and chronic bronchitis. Doctors at the Mayo Clinic report that COPD is the leading cause of death throughout the...
The effects of cigarette smoking on a lung are felt throughout the body. The lung is the "working" part of the respiratory system that extracts life-sustaining oxygen from the air and sends it to the rest of the body via the bloodstream. Inhaling...
The lungs function by transferring oxygen into the bloodstream and carbon dioxide out of the body with every breath taken. Tobacco use upsets this mechanism on many levels. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC),...
Diseases that affect the lungs result in dysfunction or damage within the lung tissues. Lung diseases cause severe breathing difficulties and may affect the airways that help the lungs deliver oxygen into the bloodstream. Damage to lung tissues...
Cigarette smoke is a mixture of burning tar that contains 4,000 chemicals, including 60 known cancer-causing agents and tobacco. Other chemicals in cigarette smoke include cyanide, benzene, formaldehyde, methanol, acetylene, and ammonia. Nitrogen...
Young smokers may be unaware of the power of nicotine addiction and how cigarette smoking might alter their life plans. A 2005 Department of Health survey showed that a majority of South Dakota middle school students thought they would not be...
The major health problems caused by smoking affect the nicotine delivery system: the airways, blood vessels and lungs in the human respiratory system. During normal breathing, air is ingested through the nose or mouth and travels through the...
The list of known diseases related to smoking has grown since the U.S. Surgeon General first announced the link between tobacco use and three chronic diseases in 1964. Researchers now understand that the toxins transmitted by cigar, pipe and...
How to stop smoking depends on who you are. What works for some people may or may not work for you, depending on your environment, your lifestyle, your metabolism and brain chemistry, and your personal motivation to kick the habit. Try everything...
The list of diseases caused by cigarette smoking grows over the years as research becomes more conclusive. From the U.S. Surgeon General's original finding that cigarettes cause cancer, the deadly consequences of smoking continue to accumulate....
While smoking exacerbates existing conditions such as asthma and allergies, it also creates many other serious breathing problems. The act of smoking places stress on the airways and lungs in ways that cause both short-term and chronic health...
Pulmonary lung disease refers to disorders that obstruct the airways, including chronic bronchitis and emphysema. These diseases fall under the category of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD, a progressive disease that is treatable but...
Breathing difficulties and coughing are typical problems for smokers. The problems can worsen as time goes on. The harmful chemicals in tobacco smoke can cause a variety of heart and lung disorders that can eventually prove fatal. Smoking can also...
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, also known as COPD, is a group of chronic lung diseases that obstructs air intake.The two most common causes of obstructive disease are emphysema and chronic bronchitis, and approximately 12 million Americans...
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a disease of the lungs in which airways carrying oxygen through the lungs are obstructed making breathing difficult. COPD is a major cause of death in Americans with more than 14 million people...
HIPAA stands for the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996. This act was created specifically to assure the rights and privacy of each individual's health advice, medical care and medical records be kept confidential. The...
