Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is an umbrella term that includes emphysema, chronic bronchitis, certain types of bronchiectasis, and sometimes asthma; Emphysema is usually the direct result of years of smoking cigarettes. It affects people who are middle-aged or elderly. Two of the most common lung diseases besides lung cancer and tuberculosis are COPD and emphysema. Let us examine the relationship and differences between both diseases.
Emphysema and chronic bronchitis are the two most common forms of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). They often occur together. Bronchitis is an inflammation and swelling of the bronchial walls. A person with chronic bronchitis typically has a daily cough with phlegm that lasts for months at a time over several years. Both emphysema and chronic bronchitis are caused by damage to the lungs and bronchial tubes. When the damage is caused by smoking, symptoms may improve after a smoker quits. It is important to emphasize that COPD is often not purely emphysema or bronchitis, but varying combinations of both.
What is Emphysema?
Emphysema, or commonly known as pink puffers among medical professionals, is a part of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). There can be emphysema without COPD but not the other way around. Emphysema is a lung disease in which lung tissues called alveoli are destroyed; thus, there is shortness of breathing. In emphysema, since lung tissues are being destroyed, carbon dioxide is being retained in the lungs. Thus, the person is having a hard time expelling carbon dioxide. They are called pink puffers because of the retained carbon dioxide in the body.
What is COPD?
COPD, or Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, is a group of lung diseases. COPD is composed of emphysema and chronic bronchitis. Emphysema, on the other hand, is a single lung disease. So both diseases are different at this point.
COPD consists of two closely related clinical entities; chronic bronchitis (long-standing inflammation of large airways characterized by cough and sputum most days of 3 months of two successive years) and emphysema (loss of elastic recoil of lung and, histologically, enlargement of airway smaller than terminal bronchioles and destruction of walls of alveoli). Patients may have either asthma or COPD but not both. If the patient is above 35 years of age, has a history of smoking, long standing production of sputum, cough, shortness of breath without clear variations throughout the day, COPD is likely. NICE (National Institute for Healthcare Excellence) recommends the name COPD.
There are two common staging systems for COPD, the GOLD (Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease) system, and the BODE index.
The GOLD system measures your breathing air volume (FEV1) as compared to normal predicted breathing and designates your breathing into one of four COPD stages are:
- Stage 1 or Mild (80% of normal)
- Stage 2 or Moderate (50-80%)
- Stage 3 or Severe (30-50%) emphysema
Stage 4 or Very severe, (less than 30%), end-stage, severe or end-stage emphysema
The BODE index attempts to place your COPD into one of four survival stages based on body mass, airflow obstruction, dyspnea (shortness of breath), and exercise capacity by a point system.
Talk to your doctor to discuss these staging systems and how they may relate tour individual problem and treatment.
Damage to the lungs caused by emphysema and COPD is not reversible. There are no cures so far, but both of them are treatable and preventable. Making lifestyle modifications can make your life easier if you suffer from these conditions.