Dr. Mark Vollenweider Discusses COPD & Treatments
Posted on May 29, 2012 by holly
Once a rare condition, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is now the third leading cause of death in the United States, and a major cause of disability. More than 12 million people are currently diagnosed with the progressive illness, and many more people may have it and not even know it.
In an interview, Mark Vollenweider, MD, MPH, a pulmonary and critical care specialist, Orlando Regional Medical Center, discussed COPD and asthma: causes, symptoms, the importance of diagnosis, and treatments, including bronchial thermoplasty – a non-drug procedure for severe persistent asthma that mildly heats airway walls. Heating reduces some of the extra muscle present in the airways and may allow airways to stay more open and help patients breathe better.
Dr. Vollenweider also discussed environmental and lifestyle changes patients can make to breathe easier.
