COPD: Facts And Myths About The No. 4 Leading Cause Of Death In The U.S.

Everyone has heard of heart disease and cancer, and it's well-known they're the top causes of death in the U.S. But what about chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD?

All too often, people have never heard of this lung disease, or they think it is rare or not serious. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Still, the more you learn about COPD, the greater your chances of preventing it. In past generations, education and prevention efforts led to a drop in heart attacks -- thank you, oatmeal for breakfast! In the same way, experts hope that as more people learn about COPD, fewer will actually get it.

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MYTH: COPD Is Rare

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The sad fact is COPD is the fourth leading cause of death in the U.S. after heart disease, cancer, and stroke. It turns out your lungs are a precious resource -- just like your heart -- and need to be protected throughout your life. Just like heart disease, COPD can be silent for many years, until it's nearly too late. About 24 million Americans have COPD, but half of them don't know it yet. COPD includes emphysema and chronic bronchitis, and it is often a combination of the two. In emphysema, the air sacs in the lungs lose their stretchiness and don't work as well. In chronic bronchitis, irritation and inflammation lead to thick mucus and difficulty breathing. More from Health.com: 3 Ways to Manage COPD The 10 Worst Jobs for Your Lungs 8 Reasons You Can't Stop Coughing

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The sad fact is COPD is the fourth leading cause of death in the U.S. after heart disease, cancer, and stroke. It turns out your lungs are a precious resource -- just like your heart -- and need to be protected throughout your life.

Just like heart disease, COPD can be silent for many years, until it's nearly too late. About 24 million Americans have COPD, but half of them don't know it yet. COPD includes emphysema and chronic bronchitis, and it is often a combination of the two. In emphysema, the air sacs in the lungs lose their stretchiness and don't work as well. In chronic bronchitis, irritation and inflammation lead to thick mucus and difficulty breathing.

More from Health.com:
3 Ways to Manage COPD
The 10 Worst Jobs for Your Lungs
8 Reasons You Can't Stop Coughing

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Comments

[MikeyJaii]

10:38 PM on 04/13/2011

The real scary thing is, if it's incurable.

[JOHNSPEAKS]

08:32 AM on 04/11/2011

Can we dispute the order of causes of -Death- from number one is by far mental health -Suicides- (Violent & Passive) and number two is military veterans -Suicides- (Homeless & Addiction etc.) and number three is heart disease etc. etc.? Think twice before -You- get involved with the mental health industry and or the military because of the never ending pain and suffering???

[JPETERB]

09:39 PM on 04/09/2011

The leading cause of emphysema based COPD is cigarette addiction.

[eva07]

07:23 PM on 04/09/2011

Wow.. obviously now is the right time to close the EPA...

[Chris Wigley]

02:45 PM on 04/09/2011

Excellent article - except for one thing! COPD is now the THIRD Leading Cause of Death in the US according to the latest (2008) statistics from CDC. See http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr59/nvsr59_02.pdf