Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a progressive, chronic disease which literally will take your breath away. COPD is a group of lung diseases that cause swelling of the airways. Emphysema and chronic bronchitis are the most common forms of COPD.
The leading cause of COPD is smoking. Between 15% and 20% of long-term smokers will develop COPD. Prolonged tobacco use causes lung inflammation and destroys air sacs in the lungs. (In rare cases, an enzyme deficiency called alpha-1 anti-trypsin deficiency can cause emphysema in non-smokers.)
Therefore, the prevention of COPD is simple: stop smoking. If one stops smoking, the progressive nature of COPD may also be halted.
However, for various reasons one can not walk away from their addiction quickly, or perhaps they are in the process of implementing strategies to stop. What then? Is their anything which can be done to maintain one's health?
Recent research has indicated that smokers who exercise regularly at a high or moderate level may slow the inevitable decline of their lung function and reduce their risk of COPD.
American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, 2007
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