Dr. Michael Basha discusses the differences between asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), who is most at risk, and typical signs and symptoms of each condition. He also shares some treatment options.
In the interview, Dr. Basha answers the following:
1) Asthma and COPD are fairly common in our society. Can you describe these conditions and their causes? (What does COPD stand for?)
2) What are the most common signs of asthma and COPD? Are the symptoms different, and do they typically present in people of different age groups?
3) Regarding asthma, who’s most at risk, and what are some of the signs and symptoms of the condition?
4) What causes an asthma attack? Can these attacks be stopped once they’re in progress?
5) Compared to asthma, does COPD trigger similar “attacks”?
6) What are the most effective treatments for asthma and COPD?
7) What advice can you share for our listeners who are living with asthma or COPD?
Selected Podcast
Breathe Easier: Understanding Asthma and COPD
Featuring:
Learn more about Michael Basha, DO
Michael Basha, DO
Dr. Michael Basha is a board certified pulmonary and critical care specialist. His clinical interests include: cancer, lung disease, asthma, emphysema, lung cancer, shortness or breath, chest pain, and pulmonary fibrosis.Learn more about Michael Basha, DO
Transcription:
Prakash Chandran (Host): Most people have experienced shortness of breath or breathing issues at some point in their lives, and for many, it may be a sign of an undiagnosed breathing condition like asthma or COPD. We’re going to learn about these conditions today with Dr. Michael Basha, a Pulmonologist at McLaren Port Huron. This is McLaren’s In Good Health, the podcast from McLaren. I’m Prakash Chandran. So, Dr. Basha, we’ve all heard that asthma and COPD are fairly common in our society. But can you tell us a little bit more about these conditions and their causes?
Michael Basha, DO (Guest): Yes, thank you for having me by the way. Asthma is an inflammatory disease of the lung. It affects about 7 or 8% of the US population. And it’s characterized by shortness of breath, chest tightness, wheezing and cough. And it’s a genetic disease that can occur at any stage of life. On the other hand, COPD is mostly caused by tobacco use, smoking, that is and usually is characterized as either being emphysema or chronic bronchitis. Both of these conditions are associated with shortness of breath, coughing, wheezing and phlegm production.
Host: Okay and what exactly does COPD stand for?
Dr. Basha: COPD stands for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. It includes both emphysema and chronic bronchitis as well as some other diseases as well.
Host: Okay and so it seems like the symptoms between asthma and COPD are relatively similar. Is that correct?
Dr. Basha: That is correct. Most patients with these conditions will have shortness of breath, they may also have chest tightness, wheezing, cough and phlegm production and that’s why it’s essential for these individuals who are having these symptoms to seek out an expert so that we can differentiate between asthma and COPD because they are treated differently. And the prognosis for each of these conditions are very different.
Host: And just to dig into that a little bit more, how do they present in different age groups?
Dr. Basha: Well patients with COPD tend to have been smoking for a number of years, 30 or 40 or 50 years and so these individuals when they present are typically older in their 50s, 60s or 70s. patients with asthma can present at any age. Typically there’s a bimodal distribution. We typically see them at a younger age, sometimes when they are small children and then we can also see them when they are adults.
Host: So, what I’m understanding is that COPD is something that develops once you have smoked for quite a while. Is there anything else that causes COPD?
Dr. Basha: Yeah, there’s a number of other risk factors. For example, we see in this area, a lot of farmers who are exposed to straw, grain and hay dust over the many years. And for that reason, they can develop COPD which is very similar to tobacco induced COPD. And that’s the other major cause that we see typically in the development of this disease.
Host: Okay, I want to talk a little bit about treatment. I know that with asthma, I’ve definitely seen the inhaler. Maybe talk a little bit about how both asthma and COPD are treated and if they can be ultimately cured.
Dr. Basha: Neither can really be cured. We see a lot of children with asthma who develop it at an early age and typically in those people, by the time they are 15, 16 or 17; their disease will wane, and they typically don’t have any problems for the rest of their life. The medications that we use are sometimes very similar. These, as you mentioned, are primarily inhalers. These inhalers do a couple of things. the open up the bronchial air tubes, they reduce inflammation in the lung, they reduce airway secretion and they help patients typically to breathe better and for their symptoms to be reduced.
Host: Okay and just regarding asthma; I just want to get a sense of who is most at risk. You said that it typically happens when you are younger; but is there a certain demographic of people that might be more at risk than others?
Dr. Basha: Well typically we’ll see it develop in many kids when they are very young. It may relate to a viral infection which is a trigger for asthma. The virus is called Respiratory Syncytial Virus or RSV. And then we can see it in other demographics as well for example, sometimes in the inner city, the risk of asthma can be higher because of exposure to certain triggers and antigens.
Host: So, I think a lot of us listening have heard of an asthma attack. But I’m curious as to when that happens and if it can be stopped while it is in progress.
Dr. Basha: Right so an asthma attack basically is an acute flare up of asthma and typically it’s caused by a trigger. The trigger can be anything such as cold air, a respiratory infection, exposure to a cat or a dog or some sort of environmental allergen like tree, grass or weed pollen. These patients have an acute onset of asthma symptoms. They just have a very accelerated set of symptoms like shortness of breath, chest tightness, wheezing and cough. Sometimes these attacks can be aborted when the patient uses their rescue medication or their rapid acting medications and, in many circumstances, the patient will end up in the doctor’s office or in the emergency room or they’ll need more intensive treatment.
Host: I see. so, normally they would take the inhaler. That might inhibit it a little bit. But the best thing to do is go to your doctor or the emergency room to get it fully checked out and treated. Is that correct?
Dr. Basha: That’s correct. Because oftentimes, they’ll need medications that can be only administered through an IV such as corticosteroids or antibiotics or other things like that.
Host: So, in contrast to asthma, I’m curious as to if COPD triggers a similar attack.
Dr. Basha: Yes, we see a lot of patients in our practice on a daily basis with a COPD exacerbation. So, these are patients who have chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. They typically have symptoms all the time. And then all of the sudden, again, because of a respiratory infection, because of an environmental allergen, because of a change in weather or temperature or something like this; they’ll have a flare up of their disease and their symptoms will become much more intense and will accelerate to the point that many of these patients will end up here in the doctor’s office or in more severe cases, in the emergency room.
Host: We talked about some treatment options earlier on, but can you talk about maybe the most effective treatments for both asthma and COPD?
Dr. Basha: Well the best treatments for both of these conditions are inhalers. So, these are medications which have various properties. As I mentioned earlier, they sometimes reduce inflammation, they reduce the production of mucus and secretions in the airways. They open up the airways. These medications are delivered by these handheld inhalers. They are very effective if used properly and these are the really cornerstone of the treatment for both COPD and asthma. Now in more severe cases, we might try some additional types of medications but for the most part, inhalers are the cornerstone of treatment for both conditions.
Host: And I’m going to ask an extremely lay question. When you are using an inhaler, what exactly is happening. I’ve seen people do it and they just take a deep inhale and I know that something gets injected to their lungs but what exactly is happening there?
Dr. Basha: Okay, so the patients typically will know how to use their inhalers because we teach them here in the office. They will shake their inhaler. They’ll take a deep breath in and then let it all out and then they’ll put the inhaler in their mouth, and they’ll take a deep breath in and hold the medication in their lungs for a good five seconds and then they’ll exhale. And sometimes the use the inhaler once or sometimes even twice. And the medication will make its way down deep into the lungs where it will have their affect to reduce inflammation or open up the bronchial air tubes or have other effects.
Host: So, just in closing here, I know that there are some listeners who are living with asthma or COPD. What advice might you have for them?
Dr. Basha: Well I think the most important thing is make sure you have a proper diagnosis. This is something I harp on all the time. Because these diseases are very different, and they’re treated differently. Some of the medications are similar but many of the medications are used differently in these two conditions. So, it’s very, very important to see a specialist or a doctor who is skilled in making the proper diagnosis and then recommending the proper medications for each of these conditions. Because they are very different.
Host: All right Dr. Basha, I really appreciate your time today. That’s Dr. Michael Basha, a Pulmonologist at McLaren Port Huron. Thanks for checking out this episode of McLaren’s In Good Health. To learn more about Dr. Basha or submit a question visit www.mclaren.org/basha. If you found this podcast helpful, please share it on your social channels and be sure to check out the entire podcast library for topics of interest to you. Thanks and we’ll talk next time.
Prakash Chandran (Host): Most people have experienced shortness of breath or breathing issues at some point in their lives, and for many, it may be a sign of an undiagnosed breathing condition like asthma or COPD. We’re going to learn about these conditions today with Dr. Michael Basha, a Pulmonologist at McLaren Port Huron. This is McLaren’s In Good Health, the podcast from McLaren. I’m Prakash Chandran. So, Dr. Basha, we’ve all heard that asthma and COPD are fairly common in our society. But can you tell us a little bit more about these conditions and their causes?
Michael Basha, DO (Guest): Yes, thank you for having me by the way. Asthma is an inflammatory disease of the lung. It affects about 7 or 8% of the US population. And it’s characterized by shortness of breath, chest tightness, wheezing and cough. And it’s a genetic disease that can occur at any stage of life. On the other hand, COPD is mostly caused by tobacco use, smoking, that is and usually is characterized as either being emphysema or chronic bronchitis. Both of these conditions are associated with shortness of breath, coughing, wheezing and phlegm production.
Host: Okay and what exactly does COPD stand for?
Dr. Basha: COPD stands for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. It includes both emphysema and chronic bronchitis as well as some other diseases as well.
Host: Okay and so it seems like the symptoms between asthma and COPD are relatively similar. Is that correct?
Dr. Basha: That is correct. Most patients with these conditions will have shortness of breath, they may also have chest tightness, wheezing, cough and phlegm production and that’s why it’s essential for these individuals who are having these symptoms to seek out an expert so that we can differentiate between asthma and COPD because they are treated differently. And the prognosis for each of these conditions are very different.
Host: And just to dig into that a little bit more, how do they present in different age groups?
Dr. Basha: Well patients with COPD tend to have been smoking for a number of years, 30 or 40 or 50 years and so these individuals when they present are typically older in their 50s, 60s or 70s. patients with asthma can present at any age. Typically there’s a bimodal distribution. We typically see them at a younger age, sometimes when they are small children and then we can also see them when they are adults.
Host: So, what I’m understanding is that COPD is something that develops once you have smoked for quite a while. Is there anything else that causes COPD?
Dr. Basha: Yeah, there’s a number of other risk factors. For example, we see in this area, a lot of farmers who are exposed to straw, grain and hay dust over the many years. And for that reason, they can develop COPD which is very similar to tobacco induced COPD. And that’s the other major cause that we see typically in the development of this disease.
Host: Okay, I want to talk a little bit about treatment. I know that with asthma, I’ve definitely seen the inhaler. Maybe talk a little bit about how both asthma and COPD are treated and if they can be ultimately cured.
Dr. Basha: Neither can really be cured. We see a lot of children with asthma who develop it at an early age and typically in those people, by the time they are 15, 16 or 17; their disease will wane, and they typically don’t have any problems for the rest of their life. The medications that we use are sometimes very similar. These, as you mentioned, are primarily inhalers. These inhalers do a couple of things. the open up the bronchial air tubes, they reduce inflammation in the lung, they reduce airway secretion and they help patients typically to breathe better and for their symptoms to be reduced.
Host: Okay and just regarding asthma; I just want to get a sense of who is most at risk. You said that it typically happens when you are younger; but is there a certain demographic of people that might be more at risk than others?
Dr. Basha: Well typically we’ll see it develop in many kids when they are very young. It may relate to a viral infection which is a trigger for asthma. The virus is called Respiratory Syncytial Virus or RSV. And then we can see it in other demographics as well for example, sometimes in the inner city, the risk of asthma can be higher because of exposure to certain triggers and antigens.
Host: So, I think a lot of us listening have heard of an asthma attack. But I’m curious as to when that happens and if it can be stopped while it is in progress.
Dr. Basha: Right so an asthma attack basically is an acute flare up of asthma and typically it’s caused by a trigger. The trigger can be anything such as cold air, a respiratory infection, exposure to a cat or a dog or some sort of environmental allergen like tree, grass or weed pollen. These patients have an acute onset of asthma symptoms. They just have a very accelerated set of symptoms like shortness of breath, chest tightness, wheezing and cough. Sometimes these attacks can be aborted when the patient uses their rescue medication or their rapid acting medications and, in many circumstances, the patient will end up in the doctor’s office or in the emergency room or they’ll need more intensive treatment.
Host: I see. so, normally they would take the inhaler. That might inhibit it a little bit. But the best thing to do is go to your doctor or the emergency room to get it fully checked out and treated. Is that correct?
Dr. Basha: That’s correct. Because oftentimes, they’ll need medications that can be only administered through an IV such as corticosteroids or antibiotics or other things like that.
Host: So, in contrast to asthma, I’m curious as to if COPD triggers a similar attack.
Dr. Basha: Yes, we see a lot of patients in our practice on a daily basis with a COPD exacerbation. So, these are patients who have chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. They typically have symptoms all the time. And then all of the sudden, again, because of a respiratory infection, because of an environmental allergen, because of a change in weather or temperature or something like this; they’ll have a flare up of their disease and their symptoms will become much more intense and will accelerate to the point that many of these patients will end up here in the doctor’s office or in more severe cases, in the emergency room.
Host: We talked about some treatment options earlier on, but can you talk about maybe the most effective treatments for both asthma and COPD?
Dr. Basha: Well the best treatments for both of these conditions are inhalers. So, these are medications which have various properties. As I mentioned earlier, they sometimes reduce inflammation, they reduce the production of mucus and secretions in the airways. They open up the airways. These medications are delivered by these handheld inhalers. They are very effective if used properly and these are the really cornerstone of the treatment for both COPD and asthma. Now in more severe cases, we might try some additional types of medications but for the most part, inhalers are the cornerstone of treatment for both conditions.
Host: And I’m going to ask an extremely lay question. When you are using an inhaler, what exactly is happening. I’ve seen people do it and they just take a deep inhale and I know that something gets injected to their lungs but what exactly is happening there?
Dr. Basha: Okay, so the patients typically will know how to use their inhalers because we teach them here in the office. They will shake their inhaler. They’ll take a deep breath in and then let it all out and then they’ll put the inhaler in their mouth, and they’ll take a deep breath in and hold the medication in their lungs for a good five seconds and then they’ll exhale. And sometimes the use the inhaler once or sometimes even twice. And the medication will make its way down deep into the lungs where it will have their affect to reduce inflammation or open up the bronchial air tubes or have other effects.
Host: So, just in closing here, I know that there are some listeners who are living with asthma or COPD. What advice might you have for them?
Dr. Basha: Well I think the most important thing is make sure you have a proper diagnosis. This is something I harp on all the time. Because these diseases are very different, and they’re treated differently. Some of the medications are similar but many of the medications are used differently in these two conditions. So, it’s very, very important to see a specialist or a doctor who is skilled in making the proper diagnosis and then recommending the proper medications for each of these conditions. Because they are very different.
Host: All right Dr. Basha, I really appreciate your time today. That’s Dr. Michael Basha, a Pulmonologist at McLaren Port Huron. Thanks for checking out this episode of McLaren’s In Good Health. To learn more about Dr. Basha or submit a question visit www.mclaren.org/basha. If you found this podcast helpful, please share it on your social channels and be sure to check out the entire podcast library for topics of interest to you. Thanks and we’ll talk next time.