Symptoms and Risks

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a common problem—24 million people in the U.S. are thought to have it—but few people have a grasp of what it is.   View slideshow

Everyone has heard of heart disease and cancer. But what about chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD? All too often, people have never heard of this lung disease, or they think it is rare or not serious. Nothing could be further from the truth.   View slideshow

• What Is COPD?

• What Causes COPD?

• Coughing and Other COPD Symptoms

  Read more about COPD

COPD is the fourth-leading cause of death in the U.S. after heart disease, cancer, and stroke. Here are 12 things you can do to keep your lungs healthy as you age.   View slideshow

Nearly 23,000 workers developed job-related lung disease in 2008,and more than 16,000 people die from it each year. If you work in these 10 fields, your lungs may be at risk.   View slideshow

The symptoms of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are very similar, but experts aren't yet sure whether asthma increases the risk of COPD later in life.  Read More

The good news: Air has gotten cleaner in recent years. Now the bad: More than half of people in the U.S. still breathe air dirty enough to cause health problems, according to the American Lung Association.   View slideshow

If you have chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), you're at an increased risk for developing other health problems, such as osteoporosis, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), diabetes, and heart disease. But there are certain times when COPD patients are more vulnerable to heart attack or strokes than other people: in the days and weeks after an exacerbation, a serious flare-up in symptoms, which can land you in the hospital.  Read More

You've been coughing for weeks. How do you know if it's a hard-to-shake cold or something more serious? Read more about COPD and some common (and relatively uncommon) culprits in chronic cough.   View slideshow

Alpha-1 antitrypsin is a naturally occurring enzyme that protects your lungs from damage. Some people are born with a gene variant that results in a deficiency of alpha-1 antitrypsin. There are no symptoms of this deficiency, but if you have the gene, you can develop chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) more easily and at a younger age than those with adequate amounts of alpha-1 antitrypsin.  Read More

Find out how to pick the right one for your allergy needs.   View slideshow

Dr. Whiteson discusses whether you should get a pneumonia vaccine.  Read More