Abstract
In patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, pulmonary rehabilitation significantly improves dyspnea, exercise capacity, quality of life, and health-resource utilization. These benefits result from a combination of education (especially in the promotion of collaborative self-management strategies and physical activity), exercise training, and psychosocial support. Exercise training increases exercise capacity and reduces dyspnea. Positive outcomes from exercise training may be enhanced by 3 interventions that permit the patient to exercise train at a higher intensity: bronchodilators, supplemental oxygen (even for the nonhypoxemic patient), and noninvasive ventilatory support.
- bronchodilators
- oxygen
- mechanical ventilation
- pulmonary rehabilitation
- chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
- COPD
- dyspnea
- exercise capacity
- quality of life
- exercise training
- exercise capacity
- noninvasive ventilation
Footnotes
- Correspondence: Richard L ZuWallack MD, Section of Pulmonary and Critical Care, St Francis Hospital and Medical Center, 114 Woodland Street, Hartford CT 06105. E-mail: rzuwalla{at}stfranciscare.org.
Dr ZuWallack presented a version of this paper at the 23rd Annual New Horizons Symposium at the 53rd International Respiratory Congress of the American Association for Respiratory Care, held December 1-4, 2007, in Orlando, Florida.
The author reports no conflicts of interest related to the content of this paper.
- Copyright © 2008 by Daedalus Enterprises Inc.
