Newly Diagnosed with COPD? We Can Help.

Follow these steps to better understand and manage your diagnosis.
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Amit "Bobby" Mahajan, MD, shares how chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) includes both emphysema and chronic bronchitis, and how your lungs are impacted when you have one or both diseases.

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COPD is used as a blanket term for two subcategories of lung disease. If you've been diagnosed with emphysema, you have COPD. If you were diagnosed with chronic bronchitis, you have COPD.

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You can also have both emphysema and chronic bronchitis. And you guessed it, that means you've been diagnosed with COPD. There are important differences between emphysema and chronic bronchitis that are worth noting because they can help inform your treatment options.

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First, let's look at our lungs and how they function. Our lungs are an organ that is used to exchange oxygen from the outside and release carbon dioxide from the inside. They have a very important job.

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They provide the vital organs with oxygen. When our lungs get injured, especially from smoking, we end up seeing them develop different types of injuries from chronic inflammation. Chronic bronchitis is a disease of the large airways where excess amounts of mucus are produced.

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This mucus can cause blockages of the airways that can be coughed up by the patient with chronic bronchitis to improve their breathing. The coughing is a result of injury to the airways themselves. Emphysema is different because the airways may be injured, but it's a function of smaller airways.

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The lungs are a connection in a network of big to small tubes with air sacs connecting them. When those smaller tubes within the airways get injured, those air sacs get damaged. As a result, there's loss of elasticity of the lungs because the lungs are really just a big rubber band that expand and contract.

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With emphysema, there's air trapped in the lungs that our bodies cannot push out and as a result, it's harder to breathe. While there's no cure for COPD, treatment is available to help relieve symptoms you may be experiencing. Talk to your health care provider about treatment options and learn more at Lung.org slash COPD because if you can't breathe, nothing else matters.

If you have been newly diagnosed with COPD, emphysema, or chronic bronchitis, you may have a lot of questions. In addition to partnering with your healthcare team, the steps below can help you better understand and manage your diagnosis.

Step 1

Step 1: Learn about COPD.

COPD stands for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and refers to having emphysema and/or chronic bronchitis. You will feel more in control when you learn how living with COPD affects your breathing and what steps you can take to feel better.

Step 2

Step 2: Recognize what makes your symptoms worse.

COPD is progressive and may worsen overtime. People living with COPD can experience an exacerbation or flare-up that may require medical attention. Exacerbations can be caused by COPD “triggers” like tobacco smoke, colds or respiratory infections. Symptoms of a COPD flare-up include: 

  • worsening shortness of breath
  • increased cough
  • fatigue, or loss of energy
  • change in the color, thickness or amount of sputum (mucus or phlegm)

These symptoms are different than what you experience on a day- to-day basis. Work with your provider to develop a plan that outlines steps to follow when your COPD is under control, getting worse, or when your symptoms are so severe that you require immediate medical attention.

Step 3

Step 3: Follow your treatment plan.

There is not a “one size fits all” treatment for COPD so work with your healthcare provider to create a plan that helps relieve your symptoms. Discuss with your healthcare provider topics such as medications, pulmonary rehabilitation, oxygen therapy, tobacco cessation and interventional or surgical treatments.

Step 4

Step 4: Understand ways to manage your COPD.

There is no cure for COPD, but treatment and management can help slow COPD progression and control symptoms, so you feel better and able to spend more time doing what you enjoy. 

  • Talk to your provider and attend scheduled appointments.
  • Take your medication as prescribed.
  • If you smoke or vape, we can help you quit. 
  • Talk to your provider about increasing your physical activity.
  • Discuss with your provider or a dietitian your concerns about weight and nutrition.
  • Talk with your loved ones about planning for the future.
  • Learn breathing techniques like belly and pursed lip breathing.
  • Talk to your provider about vaccines that protect you against infectious respiratory diseases like COVID-19, flu, and pneumonia.
Step 5

Step 5: Find support. 

You are not alone. Help and support are available from the American Lung Association:

Taking care of your emotional health is as important as taking care of your physical health. At times, most people living with a chronic health condition like COPD experience sadness, fear, and worry. If you find these feelings are not going away and the changes in your mood are affecting your ability to keep up with daily activities and things you enjoy, talk to your healthcare provider.

Talk to a registered nurse, respiratory therapist, or tobacco cessation specialist at the Lung Helpline. More frequent questions the Lung HelpLine receives about COPD are questions about

  • managing COPD
  • quitting smoking including vaping and e-cigarettes
  • oxygen therapy
  • financial assistance programs
  • and more

Contact the Lung HelpLine

Call 1-800-LUNGUSA (1-800-586-4872 and press 2) or visit Lung HelpLine.

Join the Patient & Caregiver Network

Your community is here to support you. Whether you’re a patient living with a lung disease or a caregiver, join the Patient & Caregiver Network to get direct access to timely education, support, and connection.

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