Research has found that many people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or COPD, on average, experience up to three exacerbations or flare-ups per year, with many of these resulting in hospital stays. If you have COPD, how can you keep your symptoms under...
The medical industry is full of letter-based abbreviations designed to make it easier to reference a variety of health conditions. Two that sometimes go together are CHF and COPD. What are they and how are they connected? CHF and COPD Defined CHF stands for congestive...
The American Thoracic Society (ATS) explains that pulmonary hypertension is diagnosed when there is “high blood pressure in the arteries going to the lung.” When this pressure gets too high, the heart’s right ventricle doesn’t work efficiently. This results in...
Sometimes it’s best to just get it all out. When dealing with a progressive lung disease such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), pulmonary fibrosis or emphysema, the buildup of phlegm can be a constant source of frustration. Not only can this buildup...
When your health isn’t as good as you’d like, it can send you in search of answers as to what may be going on. However, sometimes this search sends you in a couple different directions, leaving you unsure of what condition you could potentially have, a situation that...
Feeling a little short of breath? You’re in the right place. The state of feeling out of breath can be deeply distressing, and for nearly a third of those with lung disease, it is a condition that is frequently debilitating. In short, we need oxygen to live, and to...
Cold weather conditions aren’t always friendly for those with COPD. Living with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) can be difficult. Add in the exacerbation of symptoms as a result of cold weather conditions and quality of life with the disease can decrease...
Coughing, difficulty breathing, wheezing, and tightness in the chest can all be signs that you have asthma. But they also could signal chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). This can make it harder for doctors to determine exactly which one you have, especially...
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), three to five million people become seriously ill with the flu annually. Sadly, as many as 500,000 die. While it’s fairly safe to say that no one likes coming down with the latest bug, this particular virus can be...
Our veterans deserve the best. Veterans Day has a long history, originating as Armistice Day on Nov. 11, 1919—the first anniversary of the end of World War I. By 1938, November 11th became a national holiday. Not to be confused with Memorial Day, which is the fourth...
Let’s begin A Short History of Veterans’ Lung Disease with mention of a recent study in the May 2016 issue of Military Medicine, which revealed that the prevalence of chronic lung disease among the 760,000 veterans who served in Afghanistan or Iraq (often in...
Chest tightness can be a real problem for those with lung disease. Here’s a few tips for relief. For those living with lung diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a common symptom of the disease can be chest tightness. As a symptom, chest...
Allergy season is upon us. Here’s how to protect your lungs from COPD and allergies moving forward. Allergies are no fun for those who are allergic. However, for those with a chronic lung disease like chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), allergy season, and...
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a progressive form of lung disease ranging from mild to severe. It is characterized by the obstruction of airflow into and out of the lungs, making breathing difficult. Emphysema and chronic bronchitis both fall under...
The number one cause of death in the United States is heart disease, and the second leading is cancer. However, what many people might not know is that the third leading cause of death is chronic lower respiratory diseases, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary...
