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So a wheezing patient has one basic problem: the airway got smaller. That happens two ways.
In asthma, the smooth muscle wrapped around the small airways tightens up. That's bronchospasm — "broncho" means airway, and "spasm" means the muscle is clamping down on it. You'll see that root again and again: bronchodilator, bronchoconstriction, bronchospasm. They're all about that same ring of muscle.
Memory cue — constrict vs. dilate: think of the boa constrictor. It tightens around what it's holding, squeezing it smaller. That's bronchoconstriction. A bronchodilator does the opposite — it makes the airway let go and open back up.
In COPD, you get the same muscle tightening. Plus something asthma usually does not have: excess mucus and air trapping. The damaged lung tissue does not want to empty all the way on exhale. So COPD is bronchospasm with extra baggage.
Either way, the fix starts the same place: relax that muscle.
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