What is COPD?
COPD is a treatable, progressive lung disease that affects more than 2 million Canadians and is one of the leading causes of hospitalization in this country. There are estimates that up to a million more are living with COPD without knowing it.
What is COPD?
COPD is a combination of lung diseases that cause the airways in the lungs to become swollen and blocked. Shortness of breath and increasing difficulty with everyday activities are two of the most common signs of COPD. Emphysema and chronic bronchitis are the two conditions that contribute to COPD in most cases.
Emphysema develops over time and involves the gradual damage of lung tissue, specifically the destruction of the alveoli (tiny air sacs). Gradually, this damage causes the air sacs to rupture and create one big air pocket instead of many small ones. This reduction in the lung surface area traps air in the damaged tissue and prevents oxygen from moving through the bloodstream. This blockage causes the lungs to slowly overfill and makes breathing increasingly more difficult. A chronic cough is one of the most common symptoms of emphysema.
Bronchitis occurs when the airways in your lungs (your bronchi) become inflamed. This can cause severe coughing spells that bring up mucus, wheezing, chest pain and shortness of breath. Bronchitis that doesn’t go away is called chronic bronchitis.
COPD in Canada
COPD is a treatable, progressive lung disease that affects more than 2 million Canadians and is one of the leading causes of hospitalization in this country. There are estimates that up to a million more are living with COPD without knowing it.
More than 2 million Canadians are living with COPD, including 26% of Canadians over 85. Globally, COPD is the third-leading cause of death. COPD is the second-leading cause of hospitalization in Canada, behind only childbirth.
COPD is severely underdiagnosed
There are estimates that up to a million Canadians are living with COPD without knowing it. Why is COPD so underdiagnosed? A person may not have symptoms, or assume their symptoms are related to age, a common respiratory infection or a “smoker’s cough”. People who no longer smoke may think they cannot develop COPD. Some people are diagnosed with asthma when their symptoms are caused by COPD. People with COPD are often also living with other health conditions like heart disease, which they may assume is the cause of their COPD symptoms.
Are you at risk of COPD?
If you are over 40 and smoke or used to smoke, you may be at risk for COPD. It is important to speak to a healthcare provider if you are at risk of COPD, even if you don’t have symptoms or have only mild symptoms. COPD is a progressive disease, meaning it gets worse over time. Although there is no cure, COPD is treatable. The earlier that COPD is diagnosed, the more treatment options are available.
See the Canadian Health Lung Test for more information.
A note about women and COPD
For a long time, COPD has been a disease associated with older, male smokers (or former smokers). Recent research has highlighted that although the number of women and men who die of COPD in Canada each year is about equal, COPD is likely underdiagnosed in women and that women experience more severe symptoms, have earlier disease onset and are more likely to have never smoked cigarettes. Over the past two decades, the number of hospitalizations for COPD in both younger (40 to 64) and older (65+) women has increased while the number of hospitalizations in older males has decreased.