FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Quality of Life Doesn’t Need to Greatly Suffer Due to Lung Disease

Individuals suffering from Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, or lung disease often assume that they will need to greatly reduce their activities due to shortness of breath which leaves them feeling depleted after doing even simple activities. Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is the 4th leading cause of death in the U.S.

And according to the American Lung Association, an estimated 11.4 million Americans aged 18 years and older have physician-diagnosed COPD. However, close to 24 million Americans have evidence of impaired lung function, indicating that COPD is under diagnosed. COPD costs the U.S. economy an estimated $20.9 billion a year in direct medical costs. The disease is incurable, but treatable.

People with COPD may have chronic bronchitis, emphysema, or asthma. These diseases damage lungs and make it hard to breathe. Chronic bronchitis is an inflammation of the lining of the bronchial tubes which causes increased production of mucus. Emphysema causes air to get trapped inside lungs due to the destruction of air sacs. If you have Asthma your airways become tighter, inflamed and swollen. They also make extra mucus.

Endeavor Therapy & Sleep Center Administrator Karen Block says COPD is often overlooked and misdiagnosed in women and is often mistaken for asthma. Women may miss out on an early diagnosis and suffer long-term health consequences as a result due to the fact that treatment for asthma and other lung diseases is different than for COPD. Block says, “The treatment for COPD has been shown to be more successful the earlier the disease is diagnosed.”

It all begins with working with your doctor to determine if you have lung disease. Symptoms include: increased shortness of breath, a chronic cough or heavy mucus, colds that last for weeks instead of days, feeling out of breath doing daily activities such as bathing, eating or walking to your car. Most people feel that they are just getting older and out of shape and “chalk” their symptoms up to aging. Physicians should note this change during the individual’s office visit and order a PFT (Pulmonary Function Test) to see if there are any changes occurring in the lungs especially if there is a history of smoking or being around second hand smoke.

Block says the benefits of pulmonary rehabilitation are numerous. “Patients will work one on one with a Respiratory Therapist and/or Physical Therapist each visit, three times a week for 8 to 12 weeks depending on their individual needs. They’ll undergo a combination of breathing retraining exercises to improve lung function and increase strength and endurance with aerobic exercises and educate themselves on how to work within the lung function they have as well as protecting it,” said Block. Patients report noticeable improvement after just a few weeks.

“Using the breathing techniques that I learned while attending exercise sessions at Endeavor Therapy, I am now able to go out and do the things that I enjoy, like golf, with more energy and less shortness of breath,” remarked one patient.

Block says pulmonary rehabilitation also results in reduced hospitalizations and emergency room visits, improved energy levels, decreased anxiety, improved sleep and an overall better quality of life. “Most of our patients wish they had come in earlier,” said Block. “To see someone go from sitting at home in front of the television every day to gardening, golfing and just living life again is remarkable. A positive diagnosis of COPD doesn’t have to mean isolation and depression.”