hiya bucks in Bourne End, Flackwell Heath, Marlow, Wycombe, Wooburn November 2016 | Page 16

YOUR HEALTH
with Dr. Thakkar

COPD
COPD is a common disease of the lungs and stands for Chronic Obstructive
Pulmonary Disease, sometimes still known as chronic obstructive airways
disease. In the old days it was referred to as emphysema and bronchitis.
By and large COPD is a smoking related
disease - around 85% of patients with COPD
have either been smokers themselves or
have been exposed to cigarette smoke
through living or working with a smoker.
Other causes include exposure to
occupational hazards and a rare condition
called alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency, but
these are the minority. Evidence is also now
emerging of genetic risk factors associated
with COPD-related illness, making the
disease even more complex.
The health service has major concerns
regarding the impact of COPD on the
population and health economy. It has been
well documented that well over half a million
patients in the UK have COPD but don’t
know it. As such, these patients suffer over
a long period of time without treatment and
often end up in the emergency department
with severe complications of the disease.
There are many symptoms of COPD,
including coughing, wheezing and
breathlessness. The difficulty with this
condition is that the way our lungs function
naturally deteriorates over time, but this
deterioration is vastly accelerated in people
who continue to smoke. This creates
complications of COPD which include chest
infections and increased pressure on the
heart. As time goes on, patients suffer from

increased breathlessness, muscle wasting,
heart and respiratory failure, osteoporosis,
depression and eventually come to the
stage where they require oxygen for simple
everyday tasks such as getting dressed.
Lung cancer is more common in patients
with COPD as is an irregular heartbeat
(called atrial fibrillation) which increases the
risk of stroke by 500%.
The treatments for COPD are in fact
fairly simple. Diagnosis is key - if you’re
concerned, see your doctor. The first and
most important step in treatment is to stop
smoking or reduce your risk of smoke
exposure. This is absolutely essential. The
second is to have your flu and pneumonia
vaccinations. These have been shown to
significantly reduce the chances of hospital
admission in patients with COPD. The third
is to enrol in a pulmonary rehabilitation
programme. This consists of education
and breathing exercises which help people
understand the disease and improve
their outcomes, reducing their risk of
deterioration. Inhalers absolutely help to
improve symptoms, although many patients
don’t take them as prescribed.
Whilst inhalers are useful, stopping smoking,
vaccinations and pulmonary rehabilitation
are critical interventions in COPD
management.

As always, if concerned, seek medical advice or indeed look at the British Lung
Foundation website - https://www.blf.org.uk/support-for-you/copd
Dr. Thakkar is a GP
at Pound House Surgery

Chiltern Clinical
Commissioning Group
16

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