I did this post in 2015 and today I got a comment from a COPD sufferer. I like it when my blogs help people.
Dapper Wardson
Today at 13:44
Dapper Wardson has left a new comment on your post "
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) day.":
As you know that Lung Cancer Disease, COPD and HIV/AIDs Is getting
stronger and spreading day by day and that we are not responsible for
the death and pains of our loved ones but it’s our responsibility to
help those who are infected with those viruses. The only way for us to
find peace in this world is to love one another and stand by each other.
Am sharing this comment because I was once suffering from Lung Cancer
and COPD until I got help from Dr Kennedy who helped me with a cure for
both sickness Lung Cancer and COPD. If you also need help, you can
simply call him on +1 (312) 973-1164 or email through
drkennedy118@gmail.com
Today
is World COPD Day. It is so timely for me to talk about "breathing" or
rather in inabiliity to breathe. Many of you know that my baby Andrew
died from a syndrome that made him hard to breathe. His anniversary is
22 November.
My two surviving daughters had childhood
asthma. They had their asthma puff, but sometimes they don't work. Many a
time, we had to rush them in the middle of the night to the hospital,
where they were given immediate service with the nebuliser.
Who is better than this self proclaimed ambassador for COPD than me?
What Is COPD?
COPD,
or chronic obstructive pulmonary (PULL-mun-ary) disease, is a
progressive disease that makes it hard to breathe. "Progressive" means
the disease gets worse over time.
The disease affecting an
estimated 15% of New Zealanders over 45 years old, you might know someone affected and be interested in these statistics which have released.
COPD to become third leading cause
of death by 2030
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is set to
become the third leading cause of death worldwide in the next 15 years[1], and New
Zealand currently has the second highest hospitalisation rate for the disease
in the OECD[2].
Figures on deaths as a result of COPD show the disease
affects an estimated 15% of New Zealanders over 45 years old[3].
It is the fourth leading cause of death behind cancer,
heart disease and stroke[4], and our
rate of hospitalisations is second only to Ireland in the OECD.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), the
disease is growing in impact, with predictions that it will become the third
leading cause of death worldwide by 2030[5].
COPD is a progressive, obstructive lung disease
characterised by chronic poor airflow. Symptoms include frequent breathlessness
and coughing and once established causes irreparable lung damage. It is
treatable but not curable.
However, COPD often goes undiagnosed, as signs and
symptoms of the disease only appear later in the disease course.
New Zealand experts are calling for earlier diagnosis in
order to provide better quality of life for those living with COPD, as well as
reducing the cost of the disease for the public health system.
GP Dr Jim Lello, who is currently reviewing the primary care
records of a sample 325,000 patients in GP services around New Zealand who are
treated for lung disease, says many people put off visiting the doctor because
the symptoms of the disease are relatively common.
“Shortness of
breath, a cough and sputum are all common and people are used to them, so it’s
only when they get more severe or consistently affect someone’s life that they
become noticeable,” says Dr Lello.
“There is a lot of wishing and hoping on the part of
patients that it will go away, but it does creep up on people over the years.”
Dr Lello says it’s important for GPs to carry out the
correct assessments for patients at high risk. “COPD is a primary care illness,
GPs are the ones seeing it in the community most often, and so we are working
to encourage more GPs to train their staff in spirometry testing, which is an
accurate test of lung function, and to use questionnaire assessment tools as
well.”
The COPD Assessment Test (CAT) online self-assessment test
can be administered by a GP, or patients can do it themselves to get a score of
how lung function is affecting their everyday life, he says.
“If it shows that it is negatively affecting you, then
it’s important to visit your GP to discuss those results and start a dialogue
about the potential treatments that we can prescribe to help alleviate
symptoms, including medication and pulmonary exercises,” says Dr Lello.
University of Auckland Associate Professor Rob Young, a
specialist physician and clinical researcher, says early detection is crucial
as treatments can slow the deterioration of lung function when damage is
minimal if patients quit smoking and seek help early enough.
“We estimate that up to 70% of patients with COPD could be
unrecognised or undiagnosed, which is why it’s important that families get
involved and encourage family members who smoke to go to their GP for lung
function tests,” says Dr Young.
The importance of identifying COPD is made even more
important with the discovery that smokers with this disease are three to four
times more likely to get lung cancer, according to research by Dr Young.
“What we now know is that if you are a current or former
smoker and have developed COPD, your risk of lung cancer is much higher, so the
earlier you can quit smoking and start dealing with the disease, the more you
can reduce your risk.”
For Māori, that message is even more important, says Dr
Young, with the Māori population at higher risk of COPD and an even greater
risk of lung cancer. “Studies show that Māori develop these diseases 5-10 years
earlier and at much lower smoking levels than non-Māori, so detecting COPD
early becomes even more essential.”
Asthma NZ Executive Director Linda Thompson says an early
diagnosis of COPD can markedly improve a patient’s quality of life.
“They can be supported to give up smoking, encouraged to
participate in regular exercise, and be commenced on appropriate medication,
which includes annual free flu vaccinations and other vaccinations if
appropriate.”
Thompson says an important part of that diagnosis is
spirometry, a ‘gold standard’ test which can detect loss of lung function even
before the patient is aware of damage, but which needs specialist training to
administer. The test is available at Asthma NZ sites around New Zealand.
“Protocols in general practice also need to be developed
in-line with the global guidelines (GOLD) to ensure clients have the best
possible health outcomes,” she adds. “The CAT score measures patient symptoms,
exacerbations and quality of life and is dependent on the perception of the
patient. Treatment and management is determined by symptoms, quality of life
and spirometry measurements.”
New Zealand faces costs of $59.6 million per annum in COPD-related
hospital admission costs alone[6]. This is without
taking into account loss of productivity and absenteeism, or ongoing support
costs.
A study published in the New Zealand Medical Journal in January
this year found that “hospital admissions for COPD are costly and are
overrepresented in high risk groups including rural, elderly, socioeconomically
deprived, and Māori and Pacific peoples.”
“Effective interventions that are targeted to high risk groups
are required to improve equity and reduce the burden of COPD[7].”
An awareness campaign to highlight the symptoms and risk
factors will take place in New Zealand on World COPD Day, 18 November, 2015
(today).
-Ends-
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[2]
OECD Health Data 2011.
[3]
Asthma Foundation. COPD in
New Zealand. 2012. Available from: www.asthmafoundation.org.nz (Accessed
October 2015)
[4]
MOH. Mortality and Demographic Data 2009. Wellington 2014; Available from:
[6]
Milne RJ, Beasley R. Hospital admissions for chronic obstructive pulmonary
disease in New Zealand. New Zealand
Medical Journal. 2015;128(140):2010-2019.
[7]
Milne RJ, Beasley R. Hospital admissions for chronic obstructive pulmonary
disease in New Zealand. New Zealand
Medical Journal. 2015;128(140):2010-2019.
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