Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a lung disease caused by damage to the lungs over a long period of time, usually due to smoking. Symptoms include coughing and shortness of breath, and because it takes many years to see symptoms, COPD occurs most often in people over 60 and gets worse over time.
Lung disease is marked by the scarring of lung tissue that gets progressively worse, making it hard to breath. Scarring can be caused by long-term exposure to hazardous material like asbestos, and some autoimmune diseases, like rheumatoid arthritis, are causes as well.
