Cardiopulmonary care

If you have any of these risk factors for cardiopulmonary disease, we encourage you to set up an evaluation with our specialists:

• Diabetes
• High blood pressure
• High cholesterol
• Obesity
• Sedentary lifestyle
• Smoking
• Stress

COPD is a cardiopulmonary condition that causes the airways in the lungs to become blocked (obstructed), making it difficult to breathe. COPD is dangerous to you partly because symptoms can get worse quite suddenly but also because it can lead to serious complications, such as pneumonia or heart failure. Early diagnosis and treatment may prevent COPD from progressing.

The focus of our dedicated medical team and COPD specialists is to help you live well with COPD. To achieve this, our trained respiratory therapists implement individualized treatment and lifestyle plans.

Some symptoms of COPD include:

• Difficulty breathing that leads to shortness of breath during or after mild activities, such as walking or getting dressed
• Chronic cough
• Wheezing
• Feet and ankle swelling
• Needing to lean forward to breathe
• Bluish color to the lips, skin or fingernails

Diagnosing COPD includes a medical exam, diagnostic testing and imaging procedures. Evaluation may also include:

• Pulmonary function tests (PFTs): These are the most common type of diagnostic test for COPD to determine if there are abnormal lung functions. Typically a PFT includes a spirometry test that measures how much air is breathed in and how much air is breathed out.
• Arterial blood gas tests: These are usually done by drawing blood from the wrist and measuring how much oxygen and carbon dioxide is in the blood. The oxygen measurement can show if oxygen therapy is needed.
• Pulse oximetry: This is a noninvasive tool that measures the oxygen in the blood.
• Chest X-rays: These can give information on the size and shape of the lungs. The images can help determine if the lungs are too large (overinflated).
• Computerized tomography (CT) scans: These provide images of the lungs with greater details than chest X-rays.
• Bronchoscopy: In this procedure, a fiber-optic scope is introduced into the lungs to let physicians examine the lungs more closely.

COPD cannot be cured, but there are treatments that can help improve symptoms and slow the damage to the lungs. Some treatment options are:

• Prescription medications to widen the airway (bronchodilators) and reduce swelling of the airway (anti-inflammatory drugs, such as steroids)
• Oxygen therapy (if the oxygen in the blood is too low) to improve your energy and stamina

We will customize your treatment plan to your needs, but the basic process of cardiopulmonary rehab is typically as follows:

• Cardiopulmonary rehab starts in the hospital with exercise training and education on your heart and lung risk factors.
• After release from the hospital, you will begin cardiopulmonary rehab on an outpatient basis.
• The rehab program usually last six to 12 weeks and consists of three exercise sessions per week with individual education and counseling at each session.