Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease – called COPD for short – is a term used to refer to a group of chronic lung diseases related to poor airflow to and from the lungs. Most commonly, people with COPD have either emphysema or bronchitis, but asthma may be included as well.
COPD is a chronic and progressive illness that cannot be cured. It is an inflammatory lung disease. If you have COPD, damage to your airways, swelling (inflammation), or an excess of mucus make it hard for air to pass to and from your lungs. According to the National Institutes of Health, “COPD is a major cause of disability, and it is the fourth leading cause of death in the United States. Currently, 16 million people are diagnosed with COPD. Many more people may have the disease and not even know it…” The CDC says: “In the United States, COPD affects more than 15 million adults, and many more do not know they have it. More than half of those diagnosed are women. COPD is a major cause of disability, and it is the fourth leading cause of death in the United States…”
People with COPD have a higher than average risk of developing lung infections, such as pneumonia, which puts them at higher risk of developing sepsis.
Sepsis, which was often called blood poisoning, is the body’s life-threatening response to infection. Like strokes or heart attacks, sepsis is a medical emergency that requires rapid diagnosis and treatment.
Suggested Citation:
Sepsis Alliance. Sepsis and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). 2023. https://www.sepsis.org/sepsisand/copd/
Updated December 12, 2023.
In the United States, the primary cause of COPD is tobacco smoke, followed by air pollution. Frequent infections and family history may also play a role.
Aside from smoking being the major risk factor for developing COPD, those at higher risk are/have:
Because COPD involves obstructed airflow, the symptoms are related to breathing. They include:
COPD may be a respiratory illness, but it can significantly affect other parts of your life. People with severe COPD may have trouble eating a healthy diet. It can be hard to prepare meals and eat if you are short of breath. If you are not well nourished, you may be more susceptible to infection.
Shortness of breath may also reduce how much physical exercise you get and moving around is a big part of staying healthy overall. As well, being short of breath or coughing a lot can make sleeping very difficult, resulting in fatigue, which leads to other difficulties.
There is no cure for the condition, but there is treatment to help manage symptoms, reduce the number of exacerbations (periods of worsening illness), and slow the disease progress. Recommendations may include:
In August of this year I went to bed just tired from cleaning my dad’s house for him. They said I stayed in bed the whole next day and night and they found me unresponsive the next morning. They called an ambulance and I was placed in the critical care unit from the emergency room. They didn’t have a bed in icu at the time. I woke up a few hours later. When I tried to talk, my words were scrambled but that got better over the next few days so I started on them to let me go home ... Read Full Story
Submit Your StoryView More Stories
My journey began the end of Jan. 2020. We had recently moved to a new area, and really didn’t know our way around town much. After laying in bed sick and hurting in pain since, Thursday afternoon Jan. 31st, we called our doctor’s office first thing Friday morning to try to get in and be seen. We couldn’t see our new primary doctor because she was booked up solid, so I, was given the option to see another doctor we did not know in the same office, so they fit me in at the end of their day at 3:30 ... Read Full Story
Submit Your StoryView More Stories
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease – called COPD for short – is a term used to refer to a group of chronic lung diseases related to poor airflow to and from the lungs. Most commonly, people with COPD have either emphysema or bronchitis, but asthma may be included as well.
