Smoking is the leading cause of COPD. The more a person smokes, the more likely that person will develop severe bronchitis. Secondhand smoke may also cause chronic bronchitis. Air pollution, infection, and allergies make chronic bronchitis worse.
In rare cases, nonsmokers who lack a protein called alpha-1 antitrypsin can develop emphysema.
Other risk factors for COPD are:
Exposure to certain gases or fumes in the workplace
Exposure to heavy amounts of secondhand smoke and pollution
Frequent use of cooking gas without proper ventilation
Symptoms
Cough that produces mucus - may be streaked with blood
Shortness of breath (dyspnea) that gets worse with mild activity
Swelling of the ankles, feet, or legs, which affects both sides
Wheezing
Some people may have few or no symptoms.
Signs and tests
The health care provider make hear wheezing or abnormal breathing sounds when listening to the chest and lungs with a stethoscope. However, lung sounds can be normal during the exam.
In severe cases, a person with COPD can seem anxious and may breathe through pursed lips (the shape lips make when you whistle).
During a flare up, the muscles between the ribs contract while the person is breathing in. This is called intercostal retractions. The person will use other muscles to breathe. The number of breaths per minute (respiratory rate) may be high.
Pulmonary embolus (3 images)(Doctor-Reviewed information)
A pulmonary embolus is a blockage of an artery in the lungs by fat, air, a blood clot, or tumor cells. Reviewer: David C. Dugdale, III, MD, Professor of Medicine, Division of General Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine; Yi-Bin Chen, MD, Leukemia/Bone Marrow Transplant Program, Massachusetts General Hospital. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.Date: 01/27/2009
Pulmonary tuberculosis (9 images)
Average Rating:
(Doctor-Reviewed information)
Pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) is a contagious bacterial infection that mainly involves the lungs, but may spread to other organs. Reviewer: David C. Dugdale, III, MD, Professor of Medicine, Division of General Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine; and Jatin M. Vyas, PhD, MD, Instructor in Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Assistant in Medicine, Division of Infectious Disease, Massachusetts General Hospital. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.Date: 09/17/2008
Pulmonary actinomycosis (1 image)(Doctor-Reviewed information)
Pulmonary actinomycosis is a rare bacterial lung infection. Reviewer: Sean O. Stitham, MD, private practice in Internal Medicine, Seattle, WA; Jatin M. Vyas, MD, PhD, Instructor in Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Assistant in Medicine, Division of Infectious Disease, Massachusetts General Hospital. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.Date: 05/19/2008
Pulmonary nocardiosis (1 image)(Doctor-Reviewed information)
Pulmonary nocardiosis is an infection of the lung with the bacteria, Nocardia asteroides. Reviewer: Benjamin Medoff, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Pulmonary and Critical Care Unit, Massachusetts General Hospital. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.Date: 09/13/2008
Pulmonary atresia (2 images)(Doctor-Reviewed information)
Pulmonary atresia is an extremely rare form of congenital heart disease in which the pulmonary valve does not form properly. The pulmonary valve is a flap-like opening on the right side of the heart that allows blood to move to the lungs. In pulmonary atresia, a solid sheet of tissue forms where the valve opening should be. Because of this defect, blood from the right side of the heart cannot go to the lungs to pick up oxygen. Reviewer: David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.; and Mark A Fogel, MD, FACC, FAAP, Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Radiology, Director of Cardiac MR, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.Date: 12/10/2007
Pulmonary edema (2 images)(Doctor-Reviewed information)
Pulmonary edema is an abnormal build up of fluid in the air sacs of the lungs, which leads to shortness of breath Reviewer: Jacob L. Heller, MD, Emergency Medicine, Virginia Mason Medical Center, Seattle, Washington, Clinic. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc. Date: 04/20/2009
Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (3 images)(Doctor-Reviewed information)
Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis is scarring or thickening of the lungs without a known cause. Reviewer: Allen J. Blaivas, DO, Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine UMDNJ-NJMS, Attending Physician in the Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine, Department of Veterans Affairs, VA New Jersey Health Care System, East Orange, NJ. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.Date: 04/24/2009
Pulmonary arteriovenous fistula(Doctor-Reviewed information)
Pulmonary arteriovenous fistula is a condition in which an abnormal connection (fistula) develops between an artery and vein in the lungs. As a result, blood passes through the lungs without receiving enough oxygen. Reviewer: Benjamin Medoff, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Pulmonary and Critical Care Unit, Massachusetts General Hospital. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.Date: 09/13/2008
Coccidioidomycosis - acute pulmonary (1 image)(Doctor-Reviewed information)
Acute pulmonary coccidioidomycosis is a lung infection caused by breathing in spores of Coccidioides immitis or Coccidioides posadasii, fungi found in the soil in certain parts of the southwestern U.S., Mexico, and Central and South America. Reviewer: David C. Dugdale, III, MD, Professor of Medicine, Division of General Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine; and Jatin M. Vyas, PhD, MD, Instructor in Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Assistant in Medicine, Division of Infectious Disease, Massachusetts General Hospital. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.Date: 09/17/2008
Coccidioidomycosis - chronic pulmonary (3 images)(Doctor-Reviewed information)
Chronic pulmonary coccidioidomycosis is a lung infection caused by breathing in the fungus Coccidioides. Reviewer: Allen J. Blaivas, DO, Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine, Department of Veteran Affairs, VA System, East Orange, NJ. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.Date: 08/10/2007
Drug-induced pulmonary disease (1 image)(Doctor-Reviewed information)
Drug-induced pulmonary disease is lung disease brought on by a bad reaction to a medication. Reviewer: David A. Kaufman, MD, Section Chief, Pulmonary, Critical Care & Sleep Medicine, Bridgeport Hospital-Yale New Haven Health System, and Assistant Clinical Professor, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.Date: 04/16/2009
Diffuse interstitial lung disease (5 images)(Doctor-Reviewed information)
Diffuse interstitial lung disease refers to a group of lung disorders in which the deep lung tissues become swollen and scarred. Reviewer: Andrew Schriber, MD, FCCP, Specialist in Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine, Virtua Memorial Hospital, Mount Holly, New Jersey. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.Date: 01/18/2008
Pulmonary hypertension (2 images)(Doctor-Reviewed information)
Pulmonary hypertension is abnormally high blood pressure in the arteries of the lungs. It makes the right side of the heart need to work harder than normal. Reviewer: Allen J. Blaivas, DO, Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine UMDNJ-NJMS, Attending Physician in the Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine, Department of Veterans Affairs, VA New Jersey Health Care System, East Orange, NJ. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.Date: 04/24/2009
Goodpasture syndrome (1 image)(Doctor-Reviewed information)
Goodpasture syndrome is a rare disease that involves rapidly progressive kidney failure along with lung disease. However, some forms of the disease involve just the lung or kidney, not both. Reviewer: Parul Patel, MD, Private Practice specializing in Nephrology and Kidney and Pancreas Transplantation, Affiliated with California Pacific Medical Center, Department of Transplantation, San Francisco, CA. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.Date: 07/11/2008
Pulmonary valve stenosis (3 images)(Doctor-Reviewed information)
Pulmonary valve stenosis is a condition in which the flow of blood from the heart (right ventricle, or lower chamber) is blocked at the valve that separates the heart from the pulmonary artery (pulmonic valve. This narrowing is usually present at birth (congenital. Reviewer: Robert A. Cowles, MD, Assistant Professor of Surgery, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, NY. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.Date: 05/15/2008
Acute respiratory distress syndrome (2 images)(Doctor-Reviewed information)
Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is a life-threatening lung condition that prevents enough oxygen from getting into the blood. See also: Infant respiratory distress syndrome Reviewer: Andrew Schriber, MD, FCCP, Specialist in Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine, Virtua Memorial Hospital, Mount Holly, New Jersey. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.Date: 01/18/2008
Acute mountain sickness (1 image)(Doctor-Reviewed information)
Acute mountain sickness is an illness that can affect mountain climbers, hikers, skiers, or travelers at high altitude (typically above 8,000 feet or 2,400 meters. Reviewer: Jacob L. Heller, MD, Emergency Medicine, Virginia Mason Medical Center, Seattle, Washington, Clinic. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.Date: 01/15/2009
Histoplasmosis - acute (primary) pulmonary (2 images)(Doctor-Reviewed information)
Acute pulmonary histoplasmosis is a respiratory infection caused by inhaling the spores of the fungus Histoplasma capsulatum. Reviewer: Sean O. Stitham, MD, private practice in Internal Medicine, Seattle, WA; Jatin M. Vyas, MD, PhD, Instructor in Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Assistant in Medicine, Division of Infectious Disease, Massachusetts General Hospital.Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc. Date: 05/21/2008
Histoplasmosis - chronic pulmonary (2 images)(Doctor-Reviewed information)
Chronic pulmonary histoplasmosis is a long-term respiratory infection caused by breathing the spores of the fungus, Histoplasma capsulatum. See also: Acute pulmonary histoplasmosis; Disseminated histoplasmosis; Skin lesion of histoplasmosis. Reviewer: Andrew Schriber, M.D., F.C.C.P., Specialist in Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine, Virtua Memorial Hospital, Mount Holly, New Jersey. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.Date: 11/12/2007
Parapneumonic pulmonary effusion (1 image)(Doctor-Reviewed information)
Parapneumonic pulmonary effusion is an build up of fluid between layers of the tissue lining the lung and the chest cavity, which develops in the setting of pneumonia. Reviewer: David C. Dugdale, III, MD, Professor of Medicine, Division of General Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.Date: 07/15/2008
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