LIVING WELL WITH COPD 800,000+
Canadians have been diagnosed with COPD
November 15, 2017:
Patients, health care professionals, non-profit organizations, and government agencies are coming together on this day to take action against one of the world’s most prevalent respiratory diseases.
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD),
is a non-communicable lung disease that progressively robs sufferers of breath. COPD is the fourth leading cause of death worldwide, causing more than 3 million deaths every year, and up to half of people with the disease don’t know they have it.
This year is the 16th annual World COPD Day, an event held each November to raise awareness of COPD worldwide.
World COPD Day is organized by the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease, or GOLD ( goldcopd.org), a World Health Organization collaborative.
This year’s World COPD Day theme, ‘The Many Faces of COPD’, emphasizes the meaningful actions patients can take to improve their respiratory health, at any stage before or after a COPD diagnosis.
The early stages of COPD are often unrecognized, in part because many individuals discount symptoms such as breathlessness, chronic cough, and bringing up phlegm as a normal part of getting older or an expected consequence of cigarette smoking. Some people whose breathlessness is very severe may avoid seeking treatment because learning they have COPD is frightening. The most common cause of COPD is cigarette smoking. For people who smoke, the most effective strategy to prevent COPD is to quit smoking.
If you think you have COPD, talk to your doctor.
For more information visit COPD Canada
copdcanada.info or Living Well with COPD livingwellwithCOPD.com