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COPD Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease By: Di Fields
Take a deep breath... If you are having a difficult time catching your breath you may be someone who suffers from COPD.
Throughout the ageing process, healthy lungs are exposed to lung irritants & pollutants. However, not everyone manifest symptoms of a life threatening disease such as COPD. It is the 4th leading cause of death in the United States. It affects 16 million Americans and 430,000 deaths are report each year. It is almost always caused by smoking. Over time, inhaling cigarette smoke irritates the airways & destroys the elastic fibers and air sacks in the lungs.
COPD is the medical acronym defined as: Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. Simplistically, it is a chronic lung condition that obstructs the airways which are vital for inhaling oxygen and exhaling carbon dioxide. The 2 conditions that obstruct the flow of air into the airways are: chronic bronchitis and emphysema. It can be referred to damage caused by asthmatic bronchitis, as well.
The irreversible damage occurs progressively before one becomes symptomatic. It is most commonly diagnosed in people at least 40 years old. Research studies have also shown that an increase in the COPD population is attributed to heavy exposure to second hand smoke. Over 95% of the cases of COPD are caused by smoking cigarettes, 4-5% most likely are caused by exposure to dust, coal, inhaled foreign irritants and allergies. 1% of the COPD patients are caused from a genetic based deficiency by an enzyme called alpha-1 antitrypsin. This is not caused by smoking. Most patients with COPD have either Chronic Bronchitis or Emphysema and sometimes they have both.
Chronic Bronchitis: is characterized by a persistent, ongoing cough. The airways become swollen and inflamed with excess mucus production blocks airflow and causes shortness of breath.
Emphysema: is defined as the alveoli (air sacks) lose their elasticity (the ability to expand & contract) due to inflammation. The alveoli are the sight where air exchange occurs. The airways often collapse making it difficult to breathe & exhale carbon dioxide.
Asthmatic Bronchitis: is a constriction of the muscle fibers lining the airways. The narrowing of the airways is often caused by inhaled irritants & allergies. Due to the bronchoconstriction, inhaling deeply often becomes difficult. Typically, the patient has audible wheezes which necessitate bronchodilation (inhalers or nebulizer treatments).
Signs & Symptoms: A persistent and productive cough, shortness of breath, wheezes, chest tightness and frequent lung infections.
Clinical Diagnosis by a Physician includes: A physical exam, spirometry (breathing test) oxygen saturation test (pulse oximetry), arterial blood gas analysis (ABG), sputum analysis, and a chest X-ray.
Treatment: Pulmonary medications, bronchodilator therapy, inhaled steroids, antibiotics, Additional therapies for moderate or severe COPD: Oxygen therapy, smoking cessation and a comprehensive pulmonary rehabilitation program.
Although, COPD is an irreversible lung disease the diagnosis can be managed appropriately to insure patients have quality of life. Quality disease management can be best obtained by breathing exercises, clearing your airways, exercise regularly, a healthy diet, avoid smoking, early intervention to lung infections, and see your Dr. regularly . Breathe, relax and enjoy Life with COPD.
Di Fields has been a Respiratory Therapist for 24 years. She has an Associates of Science Degree from California College for Health Science San Diego, CA and is urrently a Critical Care Therapist at St. Anthony's Hospital in St. Petersburg, Florida.
For additional links & medical information regarding COPD:
http://www.americanlungassoc.com/ Alpha-1 Foundation
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A Woman's Body- A Woman's Heart By: Kathleen Sands, ED.D- Contributing Writer
Upon hearing the words 'heart attack', the first image that comes to mind for many of us is that of a middle-aged man clutching his chest just before keeling over. Typically, we do not envision a woman like ourselves who may be experiencing dizziness, nausea, fatigue and/or shortness of breath rather than severe chest pain. But we should.
"A man's heart is not a woman's heart; his pain is not her pain..."
According to the 2006 U.S. News and World Report Special Women's Health Guide, "A man's heart is not a woman's heart; his pain is not her pain. And a standard response to a common medical complaint might work for him - and kill her. Cardiac health, traditionally considered a man's concern has been one of the most fruitful areas of research and one of the most urgent. Heart disease kills more women than all types of cancer put together..."
As Dr. Christine Northrup, author of "Women's Bodies, Women's Wisdom" reminds us - this menace is the number one killer of all women - taking one life per minute. Like many of us, I had known for some time that cardio-vascular disease presents more of a health risk than breast cancer. However, I was both startled and disturbed to learn that 64% of women who lose their lives in this fashion had exhibited no prior symptoms.
Now that these statistics have gotten our attention, what can we do? First and foremost, we need to educate ourselves. As with much else in life, the subject is complex. However, a good starting point would be to get acquainted with one's particular set of risk factors, such as obesity, diabetes, or family history. Websites such as http://hp2010.nhlbihin.net/atpiii/calculator.asp and http://www.reynoldsriskscore.org/ are designed to guide you through the process of self assessment. Should you find yourself in a medium to high-risk category, issues such as medications and the appropriateness of the newer, non-invasive screening procedures would be something to consider and discuss with your physician. In fact, it is in the mid-range group that 70% of heart attacks take place. Prevention is of course, key.
Clearly, certain behaviors like smoking are to be discouraged, while others like regular exercise
Although the risk of having a heart attack is still greater for men, more women die from heart disease than men. In part, this is due to the fact that we do not fare as well during surgery. It is also vital to keep in mind that it is not solely post-menopausal women who present the greater risk. Diminished levels of estrogen may explain why women tend to experience heart problems at a later age than men, often not until their sixties. But it is not just older women who need to be vigilant. According to Noel Bairey Merz, MD, Medical Director for the Women's Health Program at Cedars-Sinai Center in Los Angeles, "Young women especially are probably receiving less evaluation and care." In fact, the mortality rate for younger women having a heart attack is double that of a man's. A recent study reported by the Journal of the American College of Cardiology found that in the United States women between the ages of thirty-five and forty-four make up the only group for whom this eventuality is actually on the rise.
The outlook, however, is not bleak. Again, according to USN&WR, "Only recently has medicine begun to acknowledge that the wondrous differences between men and women go well beyond size and body parts and a willingness to ask for directions. But things are changing fast now - and the implications for diagnosing, preventing, and treating disease are potentially huge." Thankfully, we have entered a new era and not just in terms of more sophisticated medical technology. The doctor-patient relationship is also undergoing an evolution - picture a "Father Knows Best" authority figure dispensing advice to a wide-eyed, uninformed docile patient, graduating to a more participatory team model. Women, particularly middle-aged and older, are only too familiar with having their concerns discounted, minimized or even ignored. We may outlive men in part because we are less reluctant to ask for help when in distress - which might mean making and keeping a doctor's appointment. But once we are there, it is imperative that we be heard. If we are not, it is time to look elsewhere.
However, along with a more egalitarian doctor-patient relationship comes increased responsibility for individuals to actually participate in their own health care. We're all grown up now. We need to do our homework. No one else - not our parents, spouse or doctor - can make us eat our vegetables, get on that treadmill or quit smoking. In short, we need to do our part. We need to take care of our hearts.
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are to be encouraged. Nevertheless, there is much to learn. For example, although one half of all heart attacks happen to women with normal cholesterol levels, it pays to know your numbers. Especially significant is your ratio. Just take your total number and divide by your HDL or "good" cholesterol. The result should be four or less. This constitutes your lipid profile and is one part of the larger puzzle. Copyright © WTCB- Women Taking Care of Business, Inc. ® All Rights Reserved See Terms of Use for this website |