COPD or a chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is the combination of chronic bronchitis and emphysema. And any abnormalities presented in the lungs will cause obstacles of normal lung exhale. It is recently recognized that 75% of death caused by COPD is simply linked to a smoking habit patients. A strong inflammation is caused by the chronic bronchitis and emphysema.
An inflammation causes lung structure abnormalities that are disturbing the flow of air. But asthma patients are having 12 times more chances to get COPD than other patients. In general, there are COPD complications and those are pneumothorax, pneumonia or polycythemia. Pneumonia causes respiratory failure, while COPD bacterial pneumonia is causing streptococcus pneumoniae.
There are also serious complications listed:
1 - Acute Exacerbations Acute exacerbations of COPD means sudden symptom increase (higher sputum and cough production), also wheezing and short breath. Bad bronchial infections are eliciting exacerbations. COPD patients have couple of acute exacerbations in one year, which develops for further on COPD condition. There is a higher risk of narrowing airway in lungs caused by over-production of mucus, bronnchospasm and edema. In that case patient need mechanical ventilation procedure, otherwise he or she dies due to being unable to breathe.
2. - Cor Pulmonale COPD patient’s swelling due to a lower edema of extremity is a symptom of cor pulmonale. CORP increases heart pace on a right side and carries blood into lungs. Blood vessels are going to narrow down due to a fallen amount of oxygen, which causes insufficient COPD gas exchange. Therefore right ventricle gets to be incremented, heart walls thickens, and the chamber do not work most efficiently.
3. - End-stage lung disease Respiratory system failure is a very final stage of lung disease, the failure lowers the function of lungs and increases carbon dioxide in blood, so patients gradually and slowly dies, first losing consciousness and than stop breathing.
Symptoms
Symptoms of COPD appear only in later stage of disease. And symptoms are worse and worse gradually, in time. Than exacerbations occurs when symptoms occur, depending from the type of lung disease. It is also common to have combination of different symptoms.
Chronic asthmatic bronchitis includes chronic bronchitis and asthma at the same time. Asthma strikes because of the infected and inflamed secretions, which bothers lung airway’s smooth muscles. This state includes wheezing episodes.
Chronic bronchitis affects smokers. It means often cough. And if patient keeps on smoking, it may develop emphysema. A chronic cough includes yellow sputum, often respiratory infections and breath shortness.
Emphysema symptoms are short breath, tightness in the chest and wheezing, also not being able to do physical activities.
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