Hello.. I'm a 50 yr. old female. I have been smoking since 1975.. For the last 2 years I have to sleep with 2 pillows at night. When I lay down, I develop a chronic cough that produces alot of mucus.. Also at night, I will wake up coughing and gasping for air, because I cough so hard to clear the airways.. At times I cough so much, that I will start to sweat. I must always have tissue around me at night and in the morning, because of the mucus produced. These spells often take place when I lay down, or when I just awake in the morning, or I will waken from sleeping at night. After I cough and clear my passages everything is fine the rest of the day. Although ,I have noted that on occassion I will have drainage from my nose if not caught in time with a tissue. Also, when I cough, I can feel that the the region between the rib cage in the center of my chest feels like a rapid heart beat. Help.. Do you have an anwer for me?