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Room to Breathe Cessation programs, better air quality are keys to avoiding chronic obstructive pulmonary disease Margaret Teasdale began smoking in 1952 at the age of 16. Forty-seven years later, on Ash Wednesday of 2000, she decided to quit. Then just three months after that, she was diagnosed with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, or COPD. "I was very panicky," says the now 72-year-old resident of Osh Kosh, Wisc. "I had a stepfather-in-law who had emphysema and I watched him. Then when we sold our house in Tucson, the man who bought it had emphysema and it was all he could do to walk from the car to the sidewalk to get into the house. My husband died of lung cancer, so I was very scared." According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, chronic lower respiratory diseases, including COPD, are the fourth leading cause of death in the United States, causing roughly 130,000 deaths each year. The term COPD covers the conditions commonly known as emphysema and chronic bronchitis. Typical symptoms of COPD include coughing that produces large amounts of mucus, wheezing, shortness of breath, and chest tightness. Eight years after her diagnosis, Teasdale's lungs currently operate at 36 percent capacity. The retired former judicial secretary says she notices her condition most when cleaning her house. "It might take me half of a day to clean a couple of rooms, whereas before I could do my whole house in one day," she says. "I dust, vacuum and do everything on my own, but I have to take a break now and then when my breathing gets to be a little difficult. It takes me just a couple of seconds to recover and then I go about my housework again. But I find it very restrictive because I'm just not used to that." Teasdale believes her COPD was caused by smoking and an incident at her former employment involving indoor fumigation. Dr. Norman Edelman, chief medical officer of the American Lung Association, says about 85 percent of COPD cases are attributed to smoking, and some evidence suggests air pollution as an additional cause. He says the number one way to prevent COPD is to not smoke or, if you are a smoker, to quit immediately. "Don't expose yourself to secondhand smoke," he says. "Try not to live near busy highways, get involved in efforts in your community to cut down on smoke from wood burning. Eating anti-oxidant rich foods like green leafy vegetables will also promote lung health." Dr. Derek Linderman, an assistant professor in pulmonary and critical care at the University of Colorado, Boulder, echoes the warnings against smoking and air pollution, and adds that a genetic condition known as alpha-1 antitrypsin, or AAT deficiency, can cause COPD. He recommends that those recently diagnosed with COPD be screened for the condition. "It's not really a preventative measure, but you can see if you're more likely to have a more rapid course," he says. For those with COPD, Linderman says exercise is crucial. "People who have COPD and are less active tend to become more deconditioned," he says. "They become more and more limited. It's kind of a downward spiral, they're more limited so they do less, so they become more limited and so on." Before she was diagnosed, Teasdale used to walk five miles per day. "I was always a very active person," she says. "I had no problems breathing whatsoever." Even today she works out regularly on a treadmill, and urges other COPD sufferers to stay active as well. "If you can walk, if you can ride the stationary bike, whatever you can do to keep the oxygen and the blood flowing in your system is good," she says. "Even if it's not a whole lot, you will feel so much better if you exercise." At the University of Colorado, Linderman often enrolls COPD patients in pulmonary rehab, a twelve week physical therapy course involving exercise on a treadmill and stationary bike. Last August, Teasdale also did pulmonary rehab. Her program consisted of a succession of two hour classes where she learned to exercise properly. She refuses to let COPD affect her outlook on the future. "Believe it or not, I'm not anxious," she says. "I'm hoping it's stabilized. This is going on nine years that I've had COPD. It hasn't gotten any worse, it hasn't gotten any better either, but as long as I can stay on this level and continue to function, even if I have to slow down or even if I have to call it quits for a few minutes, I'm not really that anxious about my future. I know I don't want to go on oxygen, and I probably would do anything that I had to do to stay off of the oxygen, but I don't really look to the fact that I will be on it. I guess I just will not let myself go down that trail." |
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