WASHINGTON — Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is the third-leading cause of death in the United States, according to a new report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics released the report Friday, which showed that COPD became the third-leading cause of death in 2008, but it was expected to reach that rank in 2020. COPD is a collective term for such respiratory diseases as emphysema, chronic bronchitis and bronchiectasis, and affects around 24 million Americans.