Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD, is the third leading cause of death worldwide according to the World Health Organization. "If you catch it at an early phase, treatment may consist of helping the patient to stop smoking or taking the patient away from the polluted environment that may be contributing to the disease," says Dr. John Costello, a consultant pulmonologist at Mayo Clinic Healthcare in London. On the Mayo Clinic Q&A podcast, Dr. Costello discusses how COPD is diagnosed a