COPD and Heart Disease
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and heart disease are two of the deadliest chronic illnesses affecting the world’s population. These diseases have caused hundreds of thousands to lose their lives. With the death rate of heart disease and COPD rising, attention should be focused on these diseases and how we can prevent fatalities throughout the world. Educating the public about these diseases is vital in lowering the number of deaths among individuals who have been diagnosed with these diseases. COPD and heart disease do have similar risk factors, symptoms, and mortality rates. Risk factors do play a major role in the development of these diseases. All risk factors for COPD and heart disease are similar in nature, and most can be prevented. Here are a few that should be addressed. Smoking is the leading cause of both COPD and heart disease. Cigarettes, along with other tobacco products, contain nicotine. Nicotine has been proven to cause severe damage to the lungs which, in return, causes the levels of oxygen to be limited. Limited oxygen to the lungs will cause COPD. Nicotine can also cause a rise in blood pressure. This rise in blood pressure can cause damage to the heart which can result in heart disease. Quitting smoking is the best prevention of COPD and heart disease. Pollution has also been shown to cause damage to the lungs and hearts of humans. If a patient is living in an area where the pollution level is high, he or she has a greater risk of being diagnosed with COPD and heart disease. Living in an area of high pollutants also poses higher risks of mortality among COPD and heart disease patients. If the population would pay closer attention to these risk factors, and the prevention of these risk factors, maybe then we can see a decrease in the number of patients being diagnosed with, and losing their lives to, COPD and heart disease. The symptoms of these