People with COPD experience changes in their bodies. It starts with damage to the airways and tiny sacs in your lungs. That progresses to a wet cough and difficulty breathing, which can then get worse over time.

You may understand chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) as a condition affecting your lungs and your ability to breathe.

For people with COPD, this begins with damage to the airways and tiny air sacs in the lungs. Symptoms can then progress to a wet cough and difficulty breathing.

Beyond your lungs, it can also affect other parts of your body.

COPD is an umbrella term for several chronic lung diseases that affect different parts of the lungs and lead to breathing difficulties.

The evolution of a disease resulting in functional changes in your body is known as pathophysiology.

To understand COPD’s pathophysiology, it’s important to understand the structure of the lungs and how they work:

  • When you inhale, air moves down your trachea and then through two tubes called bronchi.
  • The bronchi branch out into smaller tubes called bronchioles.
  • At the ends of the bronchioles are little air sacs called alveoli. At the end of the alveoli are capillaries, which are tiny blood vessels.
  • Oxygen moves from the lungs to the bloodstream through these capillaries. In exchange, carbon dioxide moves from the blood into the capillaries and the lungs before exhaling.

Depending on the effects of COPD on your lungs, you may develop one of the two main types of COPD: emphysema or chronic bronchitis.

Emphysema is a disease of the alveoli. It damages the fibers that make up the walls of the alveoli, making them less elastic and unable to recoil when you exhale. This makes it hard to exhale carbon dioxide out of the lungs.

If the lung airways become inflamed, this results in bronchitis with subsequent mucus production. If the bronchitis persists, you can develop chronic bronchitis. You also can have temporary bouts of acute bronchitis, but these episodes aren’t considered to be the same as COPD.

You can learn more about what causes COPD and the different types of COPD.

The two most common symptoms of COPD include coughing and shortness of breath.

Since COPD affects your lungs, you may at first be short of breath after minor physical exertion.

If you find yourself breathing harder than usual after a common activity, such as climbing stairs, you should see a doctor. Tests focused on your degree of respiratory health can reveal conditions such as chronic bronchitis and emphysema.

One reason breathing becomes more challenging is that the lungs produce more mucus, and the bronchioles become inflamed and narrower as a result.

With more mucus in your airways, you inhale less oxygen. This means less oxygen reaches the capillaries for gas exchange in your lungs. You’re also exhaling less carbon dioxide.

Coughing to try to help release the mucus from the lungs is a common sign of COPD.

You may consult a healthcare professional if you notice that you’re producing more mucus and coughing more to clear it.

Other symptoms you may notice

As COPD progresses, many other health complications can follow.

  • wheezing when you breathe
  • tightness in your chest
  • fatigue and lightheadedness from less oxygen circulating throughout your body
  • lack of energy, which can help your doctor determine how serious your COPD may be
  • weight loss as your body requires more energy to breathe

Once COPD does the damage in your body, those health effects cannot be done.

That is why prevention is so important for people at risk of COPD, along with reducing the risk for disease progression if you’re already living with COPD.

Find out if you’re at risk of developing COPD based on family medical history or other risk factors.

You can take these steps to help prevent COPD:

  • do not smoke or stop smoking as soon as you can
  • limit exposure to secondhand smoke and other dangerous chemicals that may affect your lungs
  • keep regular checkups with your healthcare team and follow the advice of your medical professionals

COPD is a group of lung diseases that can get worse over time. This condition may affect your lungs and other parts of your body, leading to difficulties breathing, coughing, and wheezing. You may also develop other health complications that range from weight loss to fatigue and lightheadedness.

Preventing COPD by not smoking is the best preventive step. Make sure to consult your healthcare team about COPD risk factors and how you manage and treat your COPD.