Chronic obstructive pulmonary diseaseChronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a long-term lung condition that makes it progressively harder to breathe. It occurs when the airways and lung tissue become damaged, leading to reduced airflow and reduced efficiency of oxygen exchange in the lungs. COPD develops gradually over time, and while it cannot currently be cured, treatments and lifestyle changes can help control symptoms and slow disease progression.
DiseaseA disease is a particular abnormal condition that adversely affects the structure or function of all or part of an organism and is not immediately due to any external injury. Diseases are often known to be medical conditions that are associated with specific signs and symptoms. A disease may be caused by external factors such as pathogens or by internal dysfunctions.
United StatesThe United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic consisting of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous states border Canada to the north and Mexico to the south, with the semi-exclave of Alaska in the northwest and the archipelago of Hawaii in the Pacific Ocean.
PrevalenceIn epidemiology, prevalence is the proportion of a particular population found to be affected by a medical condition (typically a disease or a risk factor such as smoking or seatbelt use) at a specific time. It is derived by comparing the number of people found to have the condition with the total number of people studied and is usually expressed as a fraction, a percentage, or the number of cases per 10,000 or 100,000 people.
Incidence (epidemiology)In epidemiology, incidence reflects the number of new cases of a given medical condition in a population within a specified period of time.
World Health OrganizationThe World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) which coordinates responses to international public health issues and emergencies. It is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and has six regional offices and 150 field offices worldwide. Only sovereign states are eligible to join, and it is the largest intergovernmental health organization at the international level.
DeathDeath is the end of an organism's life. It is the irreversible cessation of biological functions that sustain a living organism. Death is inevitable for all living things, as nature's tendency to disorder will cause all living systems to degrade and fail through various causes. The identification of the moment of death presents certain difficulties. A person may experience clinical death that is reversible, resulting in some cases in a near-death experience.
Statistical populationIn statistics, a population is a set of similar items which is of interest for some question or experiment. A statistical population can be a group of existing objects (e.g. the set of all stars within the Milky Way galaxy) or a hypothetical and potentially infinite group of objects conceived as a generalization from experience (e.g. the set of all possible hands in a game of poker).
Coronary artery diseaseCoronary artery disease (CAD), also called coronary heart disease (CHD), or ischemic heart disease (IHD), is a type of heart disease involving the reduction of blood flow to the cardiac muscle due to the presence of atheromatous plaques in the arteries of the heart. It is the most common of the cardiovascular diseases. CAD can cause stable angina, unstable angina, myocardial ischemia, and myocardial infarction.
Central Intelligence AgencyU.S. intelligence and covert action agencyThe Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and conducting covert operations. The agency is headquartered in the George Bush Center for Intelligence in Langley, Virginia, and is sometimes metonymously called "Langley".*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.