The, Natural Aging And Genetics

The principal risk factor for contracting COPD is tobacco use, accounting for up to 90 percent of COPD related deaths according

COPD is one of the greatest causes of disability and mortality in the twenty first century with future predictions painting an even graver story. Occupation, genome, and primarily smoking are the main causes of COPD. COPD is the third leading cause of death in America, claiming the lives of 134,676 Americans in 2010. Symptoms are typical of a constant smokers cough which progresses into the debilitating palliative stage of the disease; the development of co-morbidities exacerbates these symptoms. COPD has a complex pathophysiology involving hyperinflation, excessive mucus production and airway remodeling; diagnosis is through lung function tests. COPD is poorly managed with few effective treatments and a poor

First step preventing COPD is to know how it affects the body and the path taken; this is called the pathology. In normal, healthy breathing a person breathes in air that is moves through the bronchial tubes to the bronchioles. At the end of the bronchioles there are air sacs called alveoli. The alveoli are elastic air sacs that control the gas exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide to the body (Smoking, 2016). The alveoli consist of elastic tissue so when a person breaths in the the alveoli can expand and when the carbon dioxide is released it can deflate and return to it’s normal size.

The cause of COPD is from long term smokers and also from people who smoke marijuana which increases a higher risk of COPD. Normally it begins with a cold or infection of the pharynx. Chest pain along with coughing having shortness of breath, and wheezing

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is in the top five principal cause of death in the U.S. The disease is an abnormal inflammatory reaction in the lungs with limited airflow. COPD characteristically arises around the age 35. Smoking continues to be the main source of COPD, but is not the only known root cause. In many studies, smoking explanations for at least three fourths of COPD cases ("Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease | University of Maryland Medical Center," n.d.). Stopping smoking has been known to improve lung capabilities and help to prevent death from COPD. Genetic conditions and introductions to airborne toxins, irritants and gasses are correspondingly involved in the growth of the illness. A complete treatment plan could comprise of lifestyle changes, one or more medications, patient education, oxygen therapy respiratory rehabilitation, and surgery ("Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease | University of Maryland Medical Center," n.d.).

COPD is a disease that depletes a person of air. This disease is the fourth top cause of death in the United States. COPD describes several lung diseases including emphysema, chronic bronchitis, refractory asthma, and other forms of bronchiectasis. There is no average case, as every case is different from the next. This disease is long term but treatable.

Within the confines of this assignment, it is the hope of the author that the reader will obtain an understanding of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). This will be achieved by bringing the reader through the patients’ illness journey. The assignment will begin by defining COPD and briefly going through the pathophysiology and incidents of the condition. From there the reader will embark on the journey, starting with diagnosis.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) (http://www.thehealthsite.com/diseases-conditions/copd/001/) is considered one of the most common causes of death in the world today and, it appears that most of the patients are active smokers. However, according to researchers, the pulmonary disease can affect everybody, not only people who smoke.

COPD is chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is an “advanced” heart disease that makes it hard to breathe.” Advanced” means the disease get worse over the time. COPD affect the lungs, the air that you breathe goes down your windpipe into tubes in your lungs called bronchial tubes or airway. This airways and air sacs are elastic, when you breathe in; each air sac fills up with air like a small balloon and when you breathe out, the air sacs collapse and the air goes out. The air you breathe in is oxygen and the air you breathe out is carbon dioxide. In COPD, less air flows in and out of the airways because of one or more of the following reasons:

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) refers to a recurring illness of the respiratory system that makes it difficult to breathe by restricting the flow of air in and out of the lungs. COPD includes chronic bronchitis, emphysema, and other lung conditions.

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease is a disease that effects the respiratory system. It is a progressive disease, which means the get gets worse as time passes ("What Is COPD?"). Although their are different types of COPD, the common similarity in the disease is increasing breathlessness. The main symptoms are increasing of breathlessness, frequent coughing, wheezing and tightness in the chest. One major issue is that when people age they assume that these COPD symptoms are symptoms of aging. People think their bodies are just waring out. This makes it hard to diagnose people with the disease, because they are unaware of the symptoms.

The risk factors of COPD include genetic factors as well as environmental causes. The chief risk factor for COPD is smoking; which also includes people exposed to enormous amounts of secondhand smoke. However, there are certainly other causes that can increase the risk of a person developing the disease such as dust and chemicals. Long term exposure to their fumes, vapors or particles can also cause the swelling of lungs (Eisner et al., 2010).

There are many factors that contribute to the diagnosis of COPD. Smoking is the most common cause behind the disease. According to Healthline Networks,

Asthma and COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) are the most common inflammatory diseases of the lung. Asthma is an inflammatory disease of the respiratory tract and characterized by bronchial hyper-reactivity, airway constriction, loss of breath, wheezing and mucus production in the lung. In the world, the number of individuals suffering from asthma is increasing at an alarming rate. About 18.7 million adults and 6.8 million of children in the United States suffer from asthma as reported by CDC (Asthma, n.d.). Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a chronic inflammatory lung disease that leads to obstructed airflow from the lungs. Inflammatory response to cigarette smoke is a major cause for the development of chronic obstructive

Among many other risk factors, cigarette smoke exposure plays a major role in COPD, progressively affecting 15% of smokers2. Apart from being a complex concoction of 4700 chemical compounds, cigarette smoke extract can also increase endogenous reactive oxygen species (ROS) in