What Is the Life Expectancy for a Person With COPD?

By Staff WriterLast Updated March 24, 2020

Individuals with very mild, stage 1 chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD, have a normal life expectancy. As the disease progresses, the prognosis worsens. Once individuals are admitted to the intensive care unit due to COPD, the estimated rate of death is about 24 percent, according to MedicineNet.

There is no single method for predicting life expectancy of someone with COPD. Variables such as overall health and pre-existing medical conditions impact how long an individual lives with COPD, reports Healthline. COPD is classified in stages based on the severity of the disease. The higher the stage of COPD, the worse the overall prognosis for the individual.