Review of COPD Stages
The stages of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease are also known as grades that progressively worsen from grade I to grade IV. When you are diagnosed with COPD, your doctor will assign your condition a stage. As the sufferer enters each stage, new symptoms will develop and they will become increasingly severe.
Stages of COPD
As the stages of COPD progress, the sufferer's life quality will digress and their life expectancy will decrease. It is very important to seek help as soon as possible, and take any measures you can to preserve lung function.
Grade I: Mild COPD
It is easy to get shortness of breath just by moving at a quick pace across fairly level ground. At this point, recovery may be possible. Quit smoking, and try to avoid pollutants that are the probable cause. It’s also strongly advised to be up to date on immunizations.
Grade II: Moderate COPD
There is a need to keep a slower pace than others your age to keep one’s breathing under control. This is the stage where you may begin to develop a cough, probably reminiscent of a smoker's cough due to an increase in mucus production.
Grade III: Severe Emphysema or Chronic Bronchitis
The sufferer has to take breaks after a few minutes of walking on a generally level surface. A cough is very likely to accompany this stage. Exercise is very difficult, and one is likely to be in a state of fatigue much of the time.
Grade IV: Very Severe COPD
Breathing becomes very difficult; the smallest tasks (changing into a different shirt) can leave one short of breath. In a constant state of fatigue and the quality of life for the sufferer had definitely decreased. Shortness of breath episodes becomes life threatening.
Estimating Life Expectancy with COPD
Doctors may use the BODE Index to evaluate life expectancy of someone with COPD. The index takes body mass index, ability in walking distance, and other pulmonary tests (compared with normal numbers) to determine life expectancy. Since there is no average case of COPD, stages and life expectancies will be a general estimation, but the worsening of any of the symptoms is evidence of progressing lung damage. If you suspect you could be diagnosed with COPD you should speak to a lung care specialist in addition to your normal health care provider.
Very few people have been lucky enough to have caught their COPD in Grade I or even II, but as time goes on there is hope that better awareness may lead to an increase in early diagnoses. With an increase in early cases, there will be more people that will be able to enter into clinical trials.
