Lung Diseases: Leading Cause of Death

Many people don’t take their breathing and respiratory health seriously. But they should as the lung is a crucial organ of the body that is vulnerable to airborne diseases. Lung diseases or respiratory diseases are the fourth leading cause of death and disability in the world. Lung diseases can be defined as lung ailments that prevent your lungs from working properly. 

Lung Disease Categories

There are three main categories of lung diseases.

• Airway Diseases:

Airway diseases affect the tubes responsible for carrying oxygen and other gases into and out of the lungs. In this category, the airway is blocked. It includes asthma, COPD, and bronchiectasis. Most of the patients with airway diseases feel as if they are breathing out through a straw.

• Lung Tissue Disease:

This category of disease destroys the structure of lung tissue. Tissue inflammation or scarring can be a leading cause of chronic lung disease as you will not be able to expand your lungs completely, which makes it hard to breathe oxygen in and exhale CO2. Pulmonary fibrosis and sarcoidosis diseases come under lung tissue disease.

• Lung Circulation Disease:

In this disease, the blood vessels present in the lungs get destroyed because of blood clotting or inflammation of the blood vessels. This affects the lung’s ability to breathe oxygen and release carbon dioxide.

Many lung circulation diseases can cause severe heart problems. Pulmonary hypertension is an example of blood circulation disease. People with these conditions may experience shortness of breath after a lot of exertion. Many people in India die because of chronic lung diseases. 

Lung Diseases That Could Cause Death

A few common lung diseases are mentioned below, which can cause death. 

• Asthma:

Asthma is an airway disease in which a patient’s airway is blocked and swollen, making it hard to breathe normally. The leading cause is exposure to pollution, smoking, or allergens. The symptoms include wheezing, coughing, feeling of tightness in your chest, etc. It is a chronic condition that affects billions of people around the world. If you experience any of these symptoms, see the best pulmonologist in Mumbai, Delhi, or anywhere else for timely diagnosis and treatment. It’s easier to control the symptoms during the initial stages of the disease.  

• COPD:

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is another form of airway tissue disease that causes inflammation of lung tissue and makes it hard to breathe normally. As time passes, the lungs cause overproduction of mucus and clog up the airways. Patients with COPD have either Emphysema or Chronic Bronchitis.

Symptoms of COPD include the feeling of not getting enough air, frequent coughing, chest tightening, difficulty in breathing, and coughing up mucus. It is a severe lung condition caused by smoking, air pollution, and continuous exposure to dust, dirt, and fumes. It is progressive. If you fail to get treated on time, it could turn fatal. 

• Pulmonary Fibrosis:

Inflammation and scarring of the lungs are the reason for pulmonary fibrosis. It becomes difficult for people to breathe the necessary oxygen into the bloodstream. The common symptoms of pulmonary fibrosis include difficulty in breathing after physical activity, dry cough, short breath, tiredness, and pain in the joints and muscles.

• Pulmonary Hypertension:

Pulmonary hypertension is a condition of high blood pressure in your lungs. This hypertension affects only those blood vessels situated between the heart and lungs, making them narrow and stiff. In such a condition, your heart needs to pump blood more forcefully, increasing blood pressure in lung arteries and capillaries.

Drugs, congenital heart diseases, and even untreated COPD can cause pulmonary hypertension. If you don’t get the proper treatment on time, it leads to blood clots, arrhythmia, and even heart failure. Its symptoms include uneven heart rate, dizziness, and fatigue.

• Cystic Fibrosis:

Cystic fibrosis primarily affects newborn babies and is an inherited lung disease that causes persistent lung infections and limits breathing over time. It changes the makeup of the mucus in your body and makes your mucus thicker and stickier. Hence, you will not be able to breathe easily. Its symptoms include salty sweats, cough, frequent sinus infections, wheezing, and recurring chest cold. No complete cure is possible for this disease, but the correct and timely treatment can lower the risk of death and make it less progressive.

In A Nutshell:

Lung diseases are one of the main causes of the death of lakhs of people worldwide. A study shows that untreated and ignorant lung diseases kill more people than other chronic diseases. So, it is necessary for people showing any of the above symptoms to consult a good pulmonologist to make lung diseases less progressive.

There are many advanced treatment options available to tackle your lung-related ailments. Though these treatments cannot reverse lung damage, they can help you slow down the disease progression and breathe more easily. The treatment options depend on which type of lung disease you are suffering from. So, consult a pulmonologist for the right diagnosis and treatment.