It may be difficult to believe that today, more than 12 million Americans are living with a deadly and severe condition that causes the lungs to deteriorate and eventually results in labored and difficult breathing. As the years pass by and the condition worsens, it will often take the most drastic toll on the sufferer, as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), is generally fatal.
This particular lung disease is a "progressive" issue, which means that it gets worse over time, and many people who are affected don't know that they have the problem until the symptoms have become particularly severe. The symptoms of COPD encompass two different conditions: chronic bronchitis and emphysema, and to this day, there is no cure available. While treatment is available to help alter the progression of COPD, that is the best that most patients can hope for, and as such, many sufferers spend their time asking just how long they may have left.
COPD Life Expectancy
Although it's a difficult topic to think about, the truth is that COPD comes with the eventual threat of death. Though COPD life expectancy differs for everyone, it can be helpful to learn more about the disease that you're dealing with, to feel as though you have a better understanding of your future.
Estimating people's life expectancy when they are suffering with a chronic disease is an incredibly complicated task. Although having such a progressive, and often severe lung disease will certainly shorten your overall lifespan, the degree to which you will suffer will depend on a variety of variables, including other medical conditions you may suffer from, your overall health, and your habits or lifestyle.
One method that many doctors use in order to calculate COPD life expectancy is known as the Global initiative for chronic Obstructive Lung Disease system – or GOLD. This measurement tracks COPD through stages, the first being very mild, the second moderate, the third severe, and the fourth very severe.
Each stage will have a different overall effect on the sufferer depending on that person's personal circumstances. However, it may be easier to simply understand the fact that the higher your stage of COPD may be, the shorter is your life expectancy.
An alternative system that some healthcare providers use in measuring life expectancy in a patient with COPD is known as the BODE index, which is a measurement system that keeps track of the body mass, airflow obstruction, dyspnea, and exercise capacity of an individual.
Things That May Impact Life Expectancy
Crucially, it could be important to recognize the fact that the habits you engage in and the lifestyle you lead can have a significant impact on your overall life expectancy when suffering from COPD. Although people with COPD will undoubtedly have a shorter life expectancy than those without, things like smoking, excessive drinking, and poor activity levels can all contribute to an even shorter lifespan. This is often why doctors encourage their COPD patients to make positive changes to their lifestyle wherever possible in order to enhance their COPD life expectancy.