Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is where air cannot get out of the lungs easily (the airflow is obstructed). COPD is a common condition that mainly affects middle-aged or older adults who smoke or have smoked. Jobs where people are exposed to dust fumes and chemicals also increase the risk of COPD, as well as having chest trouble or asthma in childhood.

COPD includes long-term (chronic) bronchitis and emphysema:

• Bronchitis means the airways are inflamed and narrowed. People with bronchitis often cough up phlegm. Bronchitis can be a short-term (acute) infection, but for people with COPD, bronchitis is long-term (chronic). You can read more about acute bronchitis on the NHS website.
• Emphysema affects the tiny air sacs at the end of the airways in your lungs, where oxygen is taken up into your bloodstream. These air sacs break down and the lungs become baggy and full of bigger holes which trap air, making it harder to breathe.

These conditions can often occur together. In both conditions the airways become narrowed. This makes it harder to move air in and out as you breathe, and your lungs are less able to take in oxygen and get rid of carbon dioxide.

Your airways are lined by muscle and elastic tissue. In a healthy lung, the springy tissue between the airways pulls on the airways to keep them open. In a lung with COPD, the airways are narrowed because:

• the lung tissue is damaged so there is less pull on the airways
• mucus blocks part of the airway
• the airway lining becomes inflamed and swollen.

COPD is a long-term condition with no current cure. However, there are treatments and medications to help you breathe more easily and help keep you active. There are also things you can do to self-manage your condition at home.

COPD affects people in different ways. Some people with the condition have only mild lung damage and few symptoms. Other people have very damaged lungs and can feel very breathless and limited in what they’re able to do – these people would be considered to have a severe case of COPD.