Better Breathers, an outpatient pulmonary rehab program: This outpatient Pulmonary Rehabilitation program comprises both exercise and education. Participants must be referred by a physician.

Education: Patients attend 1½ hour sessions weekly for six consecutive weeks. These classes help patients understand their lung condition and how to manage it to feel and function better. Topics include explanations of chronic lung disease states, medications, infection control, nutrition, work simplification, stress management, coping with chronic disease, and strategies for becoming more active while reducing shortness of breath. The Better Breathers classes are taught primarily by the pulmonary rehabilitation respiratory therapists, however other specialists from our multidisciplinary team may also assist in the educational classes.

Exercise: Following a cardiopulmonary assessment of lung function and exercise tolerance, the Better Breathers exercise program is carefully tailored to accommodate individual exercise tolerance and capabilities with close monitoring or oxygen levels, heart rate, blood pressure and respiratory rates. The participant is taught to implement controlled breathing techniques with physical activity to lessen shortness of breath. In order to improve physical conditioning, the participant is encouraged to exercise three times per week. The exercise program lasts from 1 to 3 months depending on individual needs and clinical assessment. When the participant demonstrates signs of improvement in exercise tolerance and activities of daily living and is able to exercise more independently, he or she is encouraged to continue to meet health and fitness goals in our medically supervised Adult Fitness program.

For more information, talk with your doctor.

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