What are the symptoms of COPD?

Patients with COPD exhibit a range of symptoms that lead to diagnosis of the disease.

Cough is usually the first symptom to develop, intermittently at first and then becoming more persistent.¹ Cough may also be associated with sputum as a result of damaged airways generating abnormal volumes of mucus. Patients usually become concerned when they develop breathlessness as this can be distressing and prevent the undertaking of normal daily tasks like walking up the stairs with ease. Patients with COPD are also more vulnerable to chest infections and may experience wheezing, additional breathlessness and discoloured sputum during such episodes. Other common symptoms include fatigue, depression, weight loss, chest pain and swollen ankles.² COPD is confirmed by performing a simple spirometry test to assess the FEV₁/FVC ratio and allow classification of disease severity.

References

1. World Health Organisation. COPD Fact Sheet No 315. 2011. http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs315/en/index.html
2. Global Initiative for chronic obstructive lung disease: Global strategy for the diagnosis, management, and prevention of COPD. 2010. www.goldcopd.org