Bronchiectasis is a chronic lung disease that causes the tubes (airways/bronchial tubes) that carry air to the lung(s) to become widened, scarred, and inflamed from mucus pooling in the lungs. Bronchiectasis is more common in women than men and affects 350,000 to 500,000 people each year in the United States.
Nearly half of all people with bronchiectasis also have COPD. Some bronchiectasis symptoms look like COPD, so it is a good idea to talk more with your doctor if you have concerns that you may have this diagnosis. The main symptom of bronchiectasis is a cough with varying amounts of mucus production. In healthy lungs, cilia (tiny hair-like structures) move normal amounts of mucus out of small airways to be expelled. With bronchiectasis, the cilia do not move as well, and mucus is more likely to build up in the airways. Many people have symptoms for months, even years, before a diagnosis is made. This is especially true for people who have mild symptoms that come on slowly. Bronchiectasis is typically diagnosed by high resolution computed tomography (HRCT) scan – a form of x-ray that gives a very detailed picture of your lungs. The image will show the location of the disease within the lung, as well as the extent of lung damage.
The COPD Foundation is committed to providing valuable information related to bronchiectasis, both on our main website (www.copdfoundation.org) and our on Bronchiectasis and NTM Initiative website (https://www.bronchiectasisandntminitiative.org/)
We wanted to take a moment to look back at the key information provided to those with questions about bronchiectasis recently.
- The Bronchiectasis and NTM Initiative website has many new pages, including:
- Blog posts
For more information about bronchiectasis, please visit www.bronchiectasisandntminitiative.org or send a question to info@bronchiectasisandntminitiative.org.
Have you taken a few minutes to learn more about bronchiectasis?