Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)

What Is COPD?

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a chronic inflammatory lung disease that causes obstructed airflow from the lungs. It’s typically caused by long-term exposure to irritating gases or particulate matter, most often from cigarette smoke. People with COPD are at increased risk of developing heart disease, lung cancer and a variety of other conditions.

What Are The Symptoms?

COPD symptoms often don’t appear until significant lung damage has occurred, and they usually worsen over time, particularly if smoking exposure continues.
Signs and symptoms of COPD may include:

Shortness of breath, especially during physical activities
• Wheezing
• Chest tightness
• A chronic cough that may produce mucus (sputum) that may be clear,
white, yellow or greenish
• Frequent respiratory infections
• Lack of energy
• Unintended weight loss (in later stages)
• Swelling in ankles, feet or legs

People with COPD are also likely to experience episodes called exacerbations, during which their symptoms become worse than the usual day-to-day variation and persist for at least several days.

Asthma

What Is Asthma?

Asthma is a condition in which your airways narrow and swell and may produce extra mucus. This can make breathing difficult and trigger coughing, a whistling sound (wheezing) when you breathe out and shortness of breath. For some people, asthma is a minor nuisance. For others, it can be a major problem that interferes with daily activities and may lead to a life-threatening asthma attack.

Asthma can’t be cured, but its symptoms can be controlled. Because asthma often changes over time, it’s important that you work with your doctor to track your signs and symptoms and adjust your treatment as needed.

What Are The Symptoms?

Asthma signs and symptoms include:
• Shortness of breath
• Chest tightness or pain
• Wheezing when exhaling, which is a common sign of asthma in children
• Trouble sleeping caused by shortness of breath, coughing or wheezing
• Coughing or wheezing attacks that are worsened by a respiratory virus,
such as a cold or the flu.

Interstitial Lung Disease

What It Is?

Interstitial lung disease describes a large group of disorders, most of which cause progressive scarring of lung tissue. The scarring associated with interstitial lung disease eventually affects your ability to breathe and get enough oxygen into your bloodstream.

Interstitial lung disease can be caused by long-term exposure to hazardous materials, such as asbestos. Some types of autoimmune diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis, also can cause interstitial lung disease. In some cases, however, the causes remain unknown.

Once lung scarring occurs, it’s generally irreversible. Medications may slow the damage of interstitial lung disease, but many people never regain full use of their lungs.

What Are The Symptoms?

The primary signs and symptoms of interstitial lung disease are:
• Shortness of breath at rest or aggravated by exertion
• Dry cough

Lung Cancer

What It Is?

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide.People who smoke have the greatest risk of lung cancer, though lung cancer can also occur in people who have never smoked. The risk of lung cancer increases with the length of time and number of cigarettes you’ve smoked. If you quit smoking, even after smoking for many years, you can significantly reduce your chances of developing lung cancer.

Lung cancer typically doesn’t cause signs and symptoms in its earliest stages. Signs and symptoms of lung cancer typically occur when the disease is advanced.

What Are The Symptoms?

Signs and symptoms of lung cancer may include:
• A new cough that doesn’t go away
• Coughing up blood, even a small amount
• Shortness of breath
• Chest pain
• Hoarseness
• Losing weight without trying
• Bone pain
• Headache

Tuberculosis:

What It Is?

Tuberculosis (TB) is caused by a bacterium called Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The bacteria usually attack the lungs, but TB bacteria can attack any part of the body such as the kidney, spine, and brain. Not everyone infected with TB bacteria becomes sick. As a result, two TB-related conditions exist: latent TB infection (LTBI) and TB disease. If not treated properly, TB disease can be fatal.

TB bacteria spread through the air from one person to another. When a person with TB disease of the lungs or throat coughs, speaks, or sings, TB bacteria can get into the air. People nearby may breathe in these bacteria and become infected.

What Are The Symptoms?

Symptoms of TB disease depend on where in the body the TB bacteria are growing. TB bacteria usually grow in the lungs (pulmonary TB). TB disease in the lungs may cause symptoms such as:

• a bad cough that lasts 3 weeks or longer
• pain in the chest
• coughing up blood or sputum (phlegm from deep inside the lungs)
Other symptoms of TB disease are
• weakness or fatigue
• weight loss
• no appetite
• chills
• fever
• sweating at night

Symptoms of TB disease in other parts of the body depend on the area affected.

Obstructive Sleep Apnoea

What It Is?

Obstructive sleep apnea occurs as repetitive episodes of complete or partial upper airway blockage during sleep. During an apneic episode, the diaphragm and chest muscles work harder as the pressure increases to open the airway. Breathing usually resumes with a loud gasp or body jerk. These episodes can interfere with sound sleep, reduce the flow of oxygen to vital organs, and cause heart rhythm irregularities.

What Are The Symptoms?

Common obstructive sleep apnea warning signs include: • Daytime sleepiness or fatigue

• Dry mouth or sore throat when you wake up
• Headaches in the morning
• Trouble concentrating, forgetfulness, depression, or crankiness • Night sweats
• Restlessness during sleep
• Problems with sex, like a low sex drive
• Snoring
• Waking up suddenly and feeling like you’re gasping or choking • Trouble getting up in the mornings
• Waking up often in the middle of the night to pee
• High blood pressure
• Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD)

Pulmonary Hypertension

What It Is?

Pulmonary hypertension (PHT) is high blood pressure in the heart-to-lung system that delivers fresh (oxygenated) blood to the heart while returning used (oxygen-depleted) blood back to the lungs.

What Are The Symptoms?

Early symptoms include:

Shortness of breath during routine activity Fatigue
Chest pain
Racing heartbeat
Pain in upper right side of abdomen Decreased appetite

Later symptoms include:

Feeling light-headed, especially during physical activity, Fainting
Swelling in the ankles or legs
Bluish lips or skin

Pleural Diseases

What It Is?

Pleural disorders are conditions that affect the tissue that covers the outside of the lungs and lines the inside of your chest cavity. There are three types of pleural disorders — pleurisy, pleural effusion, and pneumothorax — and they have varying causes. Pleurisy is inflammation of the pleura. Pleural effusion and pneumothorax occur when an infection, medical condition, or chest injury causes fluid, pus, blood, air, or other gases to build up in the pleural space.

What Are The Symptoms?

Symptoms for pleural disorders may include:

Chest pain that is sharp or stabbing and gets worse when you breathe in deeply or cough or sneeze
Cough
Shortness of breath

Department of Pulmonary Medicine & Critical Care

Department of Pulmonary Medicine is lead by:

Dr. Diksha Tyagi

Senior Consultant, Pulmonary & Critical care Medicine

MBBS, MD, DM (Pulmonary & Critical Care Medicine)

EDRM (European Diploma of Adult Respiratory Medicine)

Dr Diksha Tyagi is the first DM in Pulmonary & Critical Care Medicine in Meerut. She is heading an exclusively dedicated interventional pulmonology unit in Meerut. She is doing all the basic and advanced bronchoscopic procedures like fibreoptic bronchoscopy, EBUS guided FNAC and biopsy, Pleuroscopy and Rigid Bronchoscopy.

She has clinical experience of more than 12 years in diagnosis and management of various respiratory diseases. She is extensively trained in critical care unit in managing patient on invasive and non- invasive mechanical ventilation. She is known for her passionate and humble nature with excellent communication skills.

Member of Indian chest society, Indian society of Critical Care Medicine, Indian society of Asthma, allergy and applied immunology, National college of chest physician and Indian society of lung cancer.

She was previously associated with prestigious All India Institute if Medical Sciences (AIIMS) New Delhi and Post Graduate institute of Medical Sciences (PGIMS) Rohtak.

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