The singer Christophe, 74, had been hospitalized and admitted to intensive care in a Parisian hospital 3 weeks ago in the midst of the coronavirus epidemic. He was then transferred to Brest and placed in deep sedation. He died last night, “as a result of emphysema” said his family.
The end stage of COPD
The pulmonary emphysema which carried away the singer Christophe is one of the phases (the most irreversible) of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a chronic respiratory disease which results in a permanent obstruction of the airways.
COPD is a chronic respiratory disease caused by permanent and progressive inflammation and obstruction of the bronchi. It progresses slowly and results in a gradual reduction of breath.
What are the symptoms ?
Its symptoms are chronic bronchitis (wet cough for several months each year for several consecutive years), recurrent bronchitis or a feeling of lack of air which gradually sets in. Gradually :
- The walls of the bronchi and bronchioles become thicker and the cells produce more mucus than usual.
- The airways become congested and the small bronchial tubes (called bronchioles) and alveoli in the lungs become deformed.
- In the final phase, the pulmonary alveoli which allow gas exchange during breathing are destroyed (this is called pulmonary emphysema.
COPD remains an unknown disease for almost 4 out of 5 people while it kills 18,000 people each year in France. This chronic disease evolves silently and its first symptoms (a wet cough that lasts) often go unnoticed by smokers who attribute this cough to an irritation of the throat due to tobacco.
Its aggravation is very gradual and often spreads over ten years. Public Health France today estimates that more than 70% of people with COPD (smokers and former smokers) are not diagnosed.
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