“Your lungs for life”. Call for prevention on World COPD Day
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is a disease involving the respiratory system and represents an important public health problem, being one of the major causes of chronic mortality worldwide. However, it is a preventable and treatable disease. Very widespread in the adult population, in Italy it has a prevalence of 5.5% and mainly affects men, where it can reach rates of 20% in people over 60 years of age. In the Republic of San Marino, current data indicate a lower prevalence than in Italy, nevertheless, a specific Diagnostic Therapeutic Assistance Plan (in health jargon “PDTA”) has been developed for taking care of patients suffering from this pathology. In fact, it is of fundamental importance to properly raise awareness among the population in recognizing the symptoms of the disease, which must always be taken into consideration in subjects with dyspnoea (difficulty breathing), chronic cough or expectoration or a history of exposure to risk factors for the disease, such as cigarette smoking in primis. In the event of such symptoms, the indication is to contact your general practitioner, who will then – after clinical evaluation – schedule a specialist visit to the Functional Pulmonary Module with spirometry, a key test for being able to diagnose COPD. On the occasion of World COPD Day, the Ministry of Health and the Institute for Social Security want to recall the importance of prevention, as the main tool to avoid the onset of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. Prevention means reducing or better still eliminating modifiable risk factors and in particular: not smoking or quitting smoking before it is too late, possibly with the use of targeted therapies available in the Pulmonary Functional Module, avoiding exposure to smoke passive, avoid prolonged exposure in particularly polluted environments, adopt a healthy diet and practice regular physical activity. For more information on COPD, you can contact the Pulmonary Functional Module by writing an email to [email protected].
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