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7. Fewer Hospitalizations
Studies show that COPD patients who attend pulmonary rehab visit the hospital less often for exacerbations than patients who don’t bother with rehab. In some cases, pulmonary rehab shaves off over a week’s worth of hospital time each year.
Hospitalizations may not always be serious, but simply visiting the emergency room will cause physical and emotional strain. Experts insist that the more often you visit the hospital with COPD complications, the higher your chances of severe complications or death in the next few years. It follows that you should do whatever you can to avoid going to the hospital in the first place.
Resources
NCBI (Mortality and mortality-related factors after hospitalization for acute exacerbation of COPD)WebMD (Pulmonary Rehabilitation for COPD)COPD Foundation (What is Pulmonary Rehabilitation?)Patient.info (Pulmonary Rehabilitation)
There are several ways to make it through the holidays with COPD comfortably; balancing work and rest and protecting against the season’s airway irritants.
