Vitabreath Pilot in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) Patients

Dyspnea is the most common symptom limiting the ability of COPD patients to perform activities of daily living. Although there has been research involving the benefit of providing Non Invasive Ventilation (NIV) during exercise to increase tolerance overall, there is little research specifically looking at shortening dyspnea recovery times associated with exercise. We hypothesize that providing intermittent non-invasive positive pressure therapy (a form of NIV or PAP) with a handheld device to COPD patients immediately after exertion can relieve their dyspnea, and consequently allow them to be more active. In this study, we are comparing the distance walked as measured by a modified 6-Minute Walk Test (6MWT) of 20 COPD patients using VitaBreath (NIV) device versus Pursed Lip Breathing.