(StatePoint) For many of the 12 million Americans with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or COPD, breathlessness, coughing and mucus production may not be symptoms of a nagging cold, but serious, daily effects of a progressive, irreversible lung disease that includes the respiratory illnesses chronic bronchitis and emphysema.
While COPD is a leading cause of death and disability in the U.S. and worldwide, many Americans are not aware that the disease even exists.
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