Pulmonary Disease

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a group of lung diseases that makes it hard for a person to breathe.  As the disease progresses, breathing becomes more difficult, and it may become difficult to carry out everyday activities. COPD is the fourth leading cause of death in the United States and Canada.

COPD develops over many years (sometimes 10 to 30 years) and is most commonly diagnosed in people over the age of 60. Because of this, COPD generally is considered a disease of older adults. COPD is sometimes called chronic obstructive lung disease (COLD) or chronic airflow obstruction (CAO).