The 5-year life expectancy for people with COPD ranges from 40% to 70%, depending on disease severity. This means that 5 years after diagnosis 40 to 70 out of 100 people will be alive. For severe COPD, the 2-year survival rate is just 50%.
Approximately 80 percent of the patients with mild emphysema lived more than four years after the diagnosis. 60 to 70 percent of patients with moderate emphysema were alive after four years. 50 percent of patients with severe emphysema were alive after four years.
Because most patients aren't diagnosed until stage 2 or 3, the prognosis for emphysema is often poor, and the average life expectancy is about five years. Treatment and early detection can play a big part in slowing down the progression of emphysema.
Especially if your COPD is diagnosed early, if you have mild stage COPD, and your disease is well managed and controlled, you may be able to live for 10 or even 20 years after diagnosis.
Prognosis. There is no cure for emphysema. But the condition can be controlled. People with mild emphysema who quit smoking have a normal life expectancy.
"It's not a death sentence by any means. Many people will live into their 70s, 80s, or 90s with COPD.” But that's more likely, he says, if your case is mild and you don't have other health problems like heart disease or diabetes.
As the alveoli break down, your bronchial tubes can start to collapse, too. Emphysema can't be cured. It's progressive, so over time it will get harder and harder for you to catch your breath. But you might not know you have the disease for the first few years unless your doctor tests your breathing.
It takes several years to progress to the final stages of COPD or emphysema, but lifestyle factors play a role. Quitting smoking can significantly improve the outlook. According to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute , COPD can progress quickly in people with alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency who also smoke.
There is no cure for emphysema, although it is treatable. Appropriate management can reduce symptoms, improve your quality of life and help you stay out of hospital.
A form of COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), emphysema develops slowly over time and once it develops, it can't be reversed.
Emphysema continues to progress even after people stop smoking. However, quitting smoking helps reduce symptoms and improve quality of life and life expectancy.
Emphysema gets worse over time. You cannot undo the damage to your lungs. Over time, you may find that: You get short of breath even when you do things like get dressed or fix a meal.
Stop smoking.
This is the most important measure you can take for your overall health and the only one that might halt the progression of emphysema. Join a smoking cessation program if you need help giving up smoking. As much as possible, avoid secondhand smoke.
Stage 2 COPD life expectancy is 2.2 years.
Which has worse symptoms? Because emphysema is a late stage of COPD, the signs and symptoms are similar. If you have emphysema, you are already experiencing COPD symptoms, though earlier stages of COPD will not have as dramatic an impact as the degree of tissue degeneration is minimal.
End-stage emphysema, or stage 4 emphysema, can mean living with a decade or more of breathing problems, tiredness, heart problems or other health concerns that impact your ability to live your life to your fullest.
Results: Overall, high mortality was seen in this cohort (12.7 deaths per 100 person-years; 292 total deaths).
Stage 4 means your emphysema is advanced and that your breathing is very severely affected. At this stage, smoking or other pollutants have destroyed many of the 300 million tiny air sacs, or alveoli, that help bring oxygen into your body and get rid of carbon dioxide.
An important part of emphysema treatment is pulmonary rehabilitation, which includes education, nutrition counseling, learning special breathing techniques, help with quitting smoking and starting an exercise regimen.
How Serious Is Your Emphysema? Stage 2 is also called moderate emphysema. But that doesn't always mean that your disease is moderate. If you're young and otherwise healthy, you could have severe lung damage and still be at stage 2.
When COPD gets worse it is called an exacerbation (ex-zass-er-BAY-shun). During an exacerbation you may suddenly feel short of breath, or your cough may get worse. You may also cough up phlegm, and it may be thicker than normal or an unusual color.
Stop smoking
If you smoke, quitting is the single most important thing you can do to improve your health, lung function and slow the progression of your COPD. If you continue to smoke, this will affect your health and respiratory symptoms, so the sooner you quit, the better your chances of living well with COPD.
Jan 25, 2023 A Breakthrough Treatment for COPD
Zephyr Valves received breakthrough device designation and were approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 2018 to help patients with severe COPD and emphysema breathe easier without many of the risks associated with major surgery.
In certain cases, people with severe emphysema may lose up to 9 years of their life expectancy. Treatment cannot reverse the damage to the lungs, but it can help provide relief and comfort. This article discusses severe emphysema symptoms and how they compare with mild symptoms.