<s>[INST] Is it worse getting asthma when you are old? [/INST] Not necessarily, but asthma is often more severe if it starts at an older age. In addition, an older person with heart disease or other medical problems may have more difficulty in dealing with an asthma attack than a younger person.What is called asthma in elderly people is sometimes actually chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). This is a different disease from asthma, and occurs mainly in cigarette smokers. COPD is generally a more serious disease than asthma, because the changes in the airways are much more difficult to treat, and it usually has a worse outcome. Source: Ginasthma. Link: https://ginasthma.org/about-us/faqs/. Field: Lung Disease. Disease: Asthma </s>