COPD Treatment and Sleep Apnea: NIV Therapy

The symptoms, causes and facts of COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder), and overlap syndrome (when people have COPD and obstructive sleep apnea), affect 1 in 10 people with OSA. We’ll discuss one COPD treatment option that can help patients breathe easier. It’s called non-invasive ventilation (NIV) therapy, which ResMed offers with VPAP™ COPD.

How NIV works

NIV treatment consists of a machine that provides air through a tube and mask to help you breathe easier, similar to CPAP. But VPAP COPD is designed specifically to treat COPD with these key comfort features:

• Easy home setup. Your machine’s default settings were chosen to treat breathing challenges specific to COPD, so you can simply bring it home, plug it in and start using it.
• Breathe comfortably. Its separate pressure settings for inhalation and exhalation make it easier to breathe in and out. VPAP COPD even syncs up with your breathing pattern in real time and offers Climate Control humidification and temperature settings to maximize comfort.
• Works with oxygen therapy. If you’re on oxygen therapy, the ClimateLine^MAX™ Oxy tube conveniently connects to both your oxygen tube and VPAP COPD machine, so there’s no need for a separate tubing connection. Plus, the oxygen can mix with VPAP COPD’s warmed, humidified air for added comfort.

ResMed also offers other machines for people in various stages of COPD. If you have COPD, ask your doctor if any of these options can help treat your COPD symptoms.

Why NIV for COPD?

If people with COPD are admitted to the hospital due to an acute exacerbation, they are often placed on NIV. But once they’re discharged, they continue with their standard medication and/or oxygen therapy. Oxygen addresses one common COPD issue, hypoxemia caused by impaired gas exchange in the lung tissue (type 1 respiratory failure), but not the other, hypercapnia caused by ventilatory failure (type 2 respiratory failure). NIV can effectively treat both, and has also been shown to:

• Enjoy a better quality of life;¹
• Reduce one’s risk of getting hospitalized due to a COPD-related event;² and
• Reduce one’s risk of mortality over one year.³

What should I do?

To see if you’re at risk for COPD, take this fast 5-question screening quiz⁴ on the COPD Foundation’s website, and discuss the results with your doctor. If you have COPD, ask your doctor if NIV treatment can help treat your symptoms. We also urge you to share this and other facts about COPD with your family, friends and coworkers.