chest pain after smoking cigarette Health effects of tobacco 9 Symptoms Never to Ignore

But doctors call it chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD, and its the third-leading cause of death in the United States

Beyond property damage, smoke-filled skies bring another danger: polluted air

The most important treatment for COPD is to stop smoking, but vaccinations, pulmonary rehabilitation, use of long-acting inhalers and other surgical advances have led to improved quality of life, decreased hospitalizations and better survival for many patients with COPD.

While mortality, hospitalizations, and disease severity are important measures of COPD burden, assessment of the quality of life of individuals with COPD is an accepted major outcome in observational trials of COPD as it readily captures the impact of disease on daily life and is a reliable predictor of disease progression and mortality