Most COPD Patients Are Missing Out on Pulmonary Rehab Benefits

Chris Garvey, a nurse practitioner at the University of California in San Francisco who has been coordinating pulmonary rehabilitation programs for over 25 years, says that patients and providers have to figure out ways to get beyond these barriers.

“The evidence has grown to establish pulmonary rehabilitation as the standard of care to improve shortness of breath, functional capacity, ability to exercise and be active, as well as quality of life and mood, including depression and anxiety in persons with chronic lung disease,” says Garvey.

Garvey stresses that even patients with severe COPD can benefit from rehabilitation. She says that those with more severe forms of the disease who may be assigned for lung transplant are normally required to do pulmonary rehabilitation so they will do better during and following the surgery.

“It’s a very rare patient who wouldn't benefit,” she says. “They might not have a complete reversal of their symptoms or complete achievement of full function, but it’s reassuring that they can improve and be more comfortable and somewhat more independent. There is almost always benefit to achieve.”

Read more at source: Everydayhealth.com (link)