Is there a cure for COPD?
Currently, there is no cure for COPD. However, there are a number of effective treatments that can improve symptoms and help you or a loved one manage the disease. Click here to learn about these treatment options.
If you smoke, quitting is one of the best ways you can help yourself. Ask your healthcare provider to recommend stop-smoking programs to help you quit. It may also help your symptoms to avoid secondhand smoke.
Will COPD affect my quality of life?
Yes, it can. Because COPD affects how you breathe, it will naturally have some effect on your lifestyle. That's why exercise can be so beneficial to your treatment. Your healthcare provider can help you create an effective exercise program to suit your lifestyle and physical condition. If possible, exercise your upper and lower limbs by doing things like walking. Cycling and treadmill walking are useful alternatives. Your healthcare provider may have you engage in breathing exercises with a therapist. Whatever your particular condition, every day should include some physical conditioning. It’s simple steps like these that can help you get back to daily living.
What else can I do to help myself?
Start by seeing your healthcare provider and learning all you can about COPD and the different treatment options. Click here to get information about some of these options. If your healthcare provider prescribes medication that requires a nebulizer or inhaler, be sure you learn how to use it correctly. You should also get proper vaccinations (influenza and pneumococcal) to prevent respiratory infections.
What's the difference between COPD and asthma?
COPD and asthma are both chronic lung disorders marked by a tightening of the airways and airway inflammation. However, asthma differs from COPD because its symptoms are generally reversible. COPD is generally progressive and only partially reversible.
COPD includes chronic bronchitis and/or emphysema. BROVANA is for treatment of COPD, not asthma. People with asthma who take long-acting beta2 adrenergic agonist (LABA) medicines such as BROVANA have an increased risk of death from asthma problems. It is not known if LABA medicines, such as BROVANA, increase the risk of death in people with COPD.
Is COPD inherited?
For most people, the answer is no. Most patients develop COPD due to environmental causes such as smoking and exposure to certain chemicals from pollution. Smokers can also affect a non-smoking spouse or even the next generation by exposing them to secondhand smoke.
However, a small percentage of individuals who lack a particular blood protein—alpha-1 antitrypsin—may pass on a gene associated with this disease. According to the American Lung Association, the absence of alpha-1 antitrypsin makes emphysema almost inevitable. Those with alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency who smoke can expect a worsening of the disease. For more information on the alpha-1 antitrypsin form of COPD, visit LungUSA.org and www.alpha1.org.
What is lung function?
Lung function is how well your lungs take in and release air and how well they move oxygen into your body's circulation. Spirometry is one of the best and most common lung function tests used to diagnose COPD. It is a simple breathing test that measures the amount of air you can exhale (called forced vital capacity, or FVC) and how much you can exhale in the first second (called forced expiratory volume in 1 second or FEV1).