The American Lung Association is working to improve the lives of people with COPD. The disease affects around 12.5 million people in the nation, with more than half a million cases in Georgia. According to the Centers for Disease Control, hundreds of thousands are hospitalized each and nearly 140-thousand die.
The two organizations have released state briefs to track the problem. While about five percent of the U.S. population has COPD, the numbers are slightly higher in Georgia, coming in at 6.6 percent.
Treatment for COPD costs an estimated $50 billion. For more information and resources for possible treatment, visit lung.org. Dr. Bobby Mahanjan with the American Lung Association, discussed the problem with WUGA.
