What is Asthma & COPD? How Asthma & COPD are interrelated to each other?

 

Asthma & COPD can be defined as two separate yet congruous conditions. The definition of asthma is an allergic reaction in the respiratory tract, while the definition of COPD is a chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD) that causes restriction or airway narrowing. Asthma refers to an allergic reaction that results in breathing problems and shortness of breath while COPD deals with a condition that causes the same problems but also affects the heart and lungs. These two conditions often exhibit quite similar symptoms such as wheezing, tightness in the chest, increased coughing, shortness of breath, and chest or abdominal discomfort.

The American Heart Association and the American Society for Nutrition state that "both chronic and allergic asthma is not caused by the same underlying pathophysiologic mechanisms", and that "cogitive and allergic asthma may have different causes, but most likely the underlying disorder is still present". In an effort to categorize asthma into its various categories, medical researchers have categorized asthma into four groups: acute, chronic, moderate, and severe.

In most current asthma and COPD definition categories, there is a positive association between both conditions. In other words, asthma has been shown to cause an increased risk of COPD and vice versa. Although most definitions of asthma and COPD overlap in terms of the types of diseases and their relationship to one another, several differences exist. For example, most current asthma and COPD definitions require the presence of a primary symptom of either chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or asthma. This requirement creates a problem for many individuals suffering from either condition since COPD often leads to emphysema and not asthma. However, emphysema and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease are two very different diseases that can lead to the occurrence of asthma and may also overlap with the symptoms of asthma