Types of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease or COPD is responsible for over 100,000 deaths in the United States each year, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Rather than being one specific disease, COPD is actually a group of disorders that affect your lungs.
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Identification
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All types of COPD block airflow through your lungs and become progressively worse over time. This makes it increasingly harder for you to breathe.
Types of COPD
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The most common types of COPD are emphysema, chronic bronchitis and chronic asthmatic bronchitis, according to the Mayo Clinic.
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Features
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Emphysema is a disease caused by damage to the sacs within the lungs, known as alveoli. Chronic bronchitis is an inflammation of the airways that lead to your lungs, and asthmatic chronic bronchitis is a type of chronic bronchitis that also causes severe constriction of the airways in your lungs.
Symptoms
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The most common symptoms of emphysema are shortness of breath, wheezing and tightness in your chest. Chronic bronchitis causes a cough that occurs three months out of the year consistently for a two-year period and often produces yellow sputum.
Treatment
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For all types of COPD, common treatments include prescription medications like inhaled steroids, the use of an oxygen tank and respiratory therapy. In some cases, removing all or part of one lung is used to treat COPD.
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