Stages of COPD
COPD is a progressive disease that gets worse over time. Symptoms may range from mild to severe, depending on the extent of lung damage. The Global Initiative for Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) have developed a staging system to assess the severity of COPD based on results of pulmonary function test (PFT).
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- STAGE 1: MILD: PFT shows 80% or more of normal levels. Patient may or may not experience mild symptoms like chronic cough with mucus, or mild shortness of breath during strenuous activity.
- STAGE 2: MODERATE: PFT shows 50-80% of normal levels. Shortness of breath, coughing, and mucus are worse at this stage.
- STAGE 3: SEVERE: PFT shows 30-50% of normal levels. Patient starts to experience shortness of breath and fatigue during normal, everyday activities. Exercise is difficult, and patient is often tired and short of breath. Patient may also have difficulty recovering from infections.
- STAGE 4: VERY SEVERE: PFT shows less than 30% of normal levels. At this stage, airflow is very limited and COPD may be life-threatening. At this stage, COPD can lead to chronic respiratory failure and more serious complications such as heart failure.
