Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)
COPD is a common lung disease. The condition makes it hard to breathe due to reduced alveoli spaces. COPD s of two types; chronic bronchitis that involves a long-term cough with mucus and emphysema that involves damage to the lungs over time. The emphysema is a pathologic diagnosis characterized by enlarged airspaces distal to the terminal bronchioles. The condition results in a dramatic decrease in the alveolar surface area available for the exchange of gases or respiration. Moreover, the loss of the alveolar associated with the disease results in narrowing of the airway as they are responsible for the support of the airway structures and this further limits airflow. The primary cause of emphysema is long term exposure to the irritants that result in the damage of the lungs and airways (Postma et al., 2015). In most nations all over the world, cigarette smoking is the leading cause. The pipe cigar and other forms of tobacco cause the disease, especially when they get inhaled.
In the scenario, the 64-year old man had a history of smoking tobacco with a history of 40pack/year. The constant smoking had damaged the air sacs in the lungs (alveoli). Over time, the inner walls of the air sacs got weakened and rupture, and this resulted in the establishment of larger air spaces instead of the small ones (Barnes, Shapiro, & Pauwels, 2003). It further reduced the surface area of the lungs, and in turn, the amount of oxygen that would reach his bloodstream and this limited the airflow in the body, leading to the diagnosis of the COPD (emphysema). The determination by the APRN was thus correct as the man had suffered COPD as a result of constant tobacco smoking.
References
Barnes, P. J., Shapiro, S. D., & Pauwels, R. A. (2003). Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: molecular and cellular mechanisms. European Respiratory Journal, 22(4), 672-688.
Postma, D. S., Bush, A., & van den Berge, M. (2015). Risk factors and early origins of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The Lancet, 385(9971), 899-909.