If you want to quit, there are some effective aids that can help, including nicotine patches and oral medication. Under the Affordable Care Act, many of these are available free of charge for multiple quit attempts.
A five-year study in China reported that smoking cessation in people with severe COPD significantly increased the survival rate. Among the 204 trial participants, 73 people who didn’t stop smoking had died compared to only 40 in the group who quit smoking.
According to a 2013 report in the European Respiratory Review, continuous high-intensity training works best for improving your respiratory health if you have COPD. However, if you cannot sustain high-intensity exercises because your symptoms are severe, interval training (in which the intensity of a workout is increased to 90% to 95% of your maximum heart rate for several minutes and then slowed to a more relaxed rate for several minutes) works just as well.
Simple dietary changes can make a big difference in your life. According to a 2014 review of studies in the International Journal of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, increasing your consumption of fruit by 100 milligrams per day reduces the risk of mortality by 24% over a 20-year period. By contrast, eating cured meats high in nitrates is associated with the rapid progression of COPD.
Studies have even shown that using oxygen for at least 15 hours per day can increase your survival rate. There are alternatives to the nasal cannula, so if you don’t like your current delivery method, ask your healthcare provider what other methods are available.
If this sounds familiar, you may need to start pacing yourself so that you can conserve more energy. Not only will conserving your energy help you get through your day, but it will help you deal with the most frightening aspect of COPD-related breathlessness.
Studies have shown that managing anxiety and depression can increase your ability to stick with your prescribed treatments and improve your physical health. In addition to mind-body therapies, cognitive behavior therapy, antidepressants, and other medical interventions can also help relieve stress and improve your overall quality of life.
