COPD OUT

COPD - it doesn't take much

From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I'm Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat.

A common lung condition - COPD, or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease - can reduce the heart's ability to pump blood even with mild or no symptoms of COPD.

Graham Barr of Columbia University Medical Center in New York City found that in heart and lung data on more than 2,800 people.

COPD affects the lungs' ability to take in oxygen. The study indicates COPD strains the heart more than people realize:

[Graham Barr speaks] ``Previously, we thought this was a problem in people with very severe lung disease. This study suggests similar relationships or effects occur in much milder lung disease.''

One way to reduce the risk of COPD is to not smoke.

The study in the New England Journal of Medicine was supported by the National Institutes of Health.

Learn more at hhs.gov.

HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I'm Ira Dreyfuss.