COPD Patients Can Reduce The Likelihood Of Respiratory Attacks By Low-Intensity Exercise

People with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) could reduce the time spent in the hospital with severe respiratory attacks if they would start walking every day, a Spanish study has found. COPD includes chronic bronchitis and emphysema and is characterized by breathing difficulties resulting from long-term lung damage, often from smoking. For the study, researchers monitored the exercise levels of 543 COPD patients. They found that those who maintained moderate or high levels of exercise over time – including low intensity activities such as walking two to four miles a day – reduced the likelihood of being hospitalized by severe symptoms.