Effects of NIMV on the Health Status of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD )Patients

In this proposal, we will implement a randomized controlled trial to determine whether nocturnal NIMV applied for 3 months: 1) improves (disease-specific) health related quality of life (HRQL) of COPD patients compared to a control group of patients treated with sham NIMV therapy (primary outcome); 2) improves exercise tolerance and walking capacity of COPD patients; and 3) improves heart rate variability and decreases sympathetic tone in COPD.