Hundreds of Bulgarians queued Wednesday to make a free test of breathing, an initiative to mark the Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) Day. Photo by Yuliana Nikolova (Sofia Photo Agency)
Hundreds of Bulgarians queued to make a free test of breathing, an initiative to mark the Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) Day.
The event was organized by the Bulgarian Association of Asthma Patients, the Pulmonary Diseases Union and pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca.
It favoured the support of prominent Bulgarian actors, such as Valyo Tanev, Zlatina Dzhambazova, Deyan and Darin Anguelova, and enjoyed great interest on the part of firefighters and policemen.
World COPD Day is an annual event organized by the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD), which works closely with health care professionals and public health officials around the world to increase people's awareness of COPD and improve prevention and treatment of this lung disease.
This year the campaign runs under the theme "Breathless Not Helpless!" It seeks to increase the people's awareness that breathlessness is a part of aging and to reassure those diagnosed with the disease that there are effective treatments to make them feel better.
WHO estimates that 80 million people suffer from moderate to severe COPD and 3 million died of the disease in 2005. COPD is expected to be the fourth leading cause of death worldwide by 2030.
The most important COPD risk factors include tobacco smoking, indoor pollution (such as biomass fuel used for cooking and heating), outdoor air pollution, and occupational dusts and chemicals (such as vapors, irritants, and fumes).
Hundreds of Bulgarians queued to make a free test of breathing, an initiative to mark the Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) Day.
The event was organized by the Bulgarian Association of Asthma Patients, the Pulmonary Diseases Union and pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca.
It favoured the support of prominent Bulgarian actors, such as Valyo Tanev, Zlatina Dzhambazova, Deyan and Darin Anguelova, and enjoyed great interest on the part of firefighters and policemen.
World COPD Day is an annual event organized by the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD), which works closely with health care professionals and public health officials around the world to increase people's awareness of COPD and improve prevention and treatment of this lung disease.
This year the campaign runs under the theme "Breathless Not Helpless!" It seeks to increase the people's awareness that breathlessness is a part of aging and to reassure those diagnosed with the disease that there are effective treatments to make them feel better.
WHO estimates that 80 million people suffer from moderate to severe COPD and 3 million died of the disease in 2005. COPD is expected to be the fourth leading cause of death worldwide by 2030.
The most important COPD risk factors include tobacco smoking, indoor pollution (such as biomass fuel used for cooking and heating), outdoor air pollution, and occupational dusts and chemicals (such as vapors, irritants, and fumes).