Asthma and COPD

Asthma is reversible airway inflammation; COPD is progressive airflow limitation usually from smoking. Both cause shortness of breath and require different long-term management.

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Asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are lung diseases. Both cause swelling in your airways that makes it hard to breathe.

Asthma is a condition in which your airways narrow and swell and may produce extra mucus. This can make breathing difficult and trigger coughing, a whistling sound (wheezing) when you breathe out, and shortness of breath.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a chronic inflammatory lung disease that causes obstructed airflow from the lungs. Symptoms include breathing difficulty, cough, mucus (sputum) production, and wheezing.

What Is Asthma-COPD Overlap?

Some people have asthma and COPD at the same time. If you have symptoms of both diseases, your doctor may call it asthma-COPD overlap (ACO).

Signs & symptoms

Signs and symptoms to watch for

- Shortness of breath
especially with activity - Wheezing (a whistling sound when breathing) - Chronic cough
which may produce mucus - Chest tightness or pressure - Symptoms worse at night or early morning (asthma) - Frequent respiratory infections - Fatigue and reduced exercise tolerance

When to see a specialist

Should you see a specialist?

See a pulmonologist for poorly controlled asthma despite standard inhaler therapy, frequent exacerbations, suspected occupational lung disease, smokers age 40+ with shortness of breath, or any patient needing diagnostic spirometry and treatment optimization.

Your physician

Your pulmonary medicine at Remix Medical.

Every clinician at Remix Medical is board-certified and owns the practice — so the physician in your exam room is the one making decisions about your care.

Thinh Vo, MD
Pulmonologist
Montrose — Upper Kirby
Board certifiedAccepting newBook

Specialty: Pulmonary Medicine
ICD-10 code: J45.909 (Asthma, unspecified, uncomplicated) / J44.9 (COPD, unspecified)
Associated anatomy: Lungs, bronchi, alveoli, airways

Also known as: Asthma, COPD, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, Asthma-COPD Overlap, ACO, Reactive Airway Disease, Chronic Bronchitis, Emphysema

This page is for general education and is not a substitute for medical advice from your physician. Contact a Remix Medical clinician about your specific situation.

Updated May 9, 2026. Medically reviewed by Thinh Vo, MD.