Wheezing, coughing, shortness of breath.
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease affects 16 million Americans.
There currently is no cure.

“Currently COPD is the third leading cause of death in the United States and it’s the only one of the top seven causes where the incidence of death is increasing.”

Vie Med Chief Medical Officer Dr. William Frazier finished a study where they found using an at-home ventilator reduces mortality, hospitalization and ER visits for COPD patients.

“Our findings showed a statistically significant, clinically meaningful reduction in mortality, hospitalization and emergency room utilization. these are outcomes that are obviously very important to patients.”

“This is a machine that i think helps those patients significantly, especially in the later stages of COPD where these patients are highly symptomatic, they come to the hospital a lot or they come to the urgent care clinic a lot or they have a lot of symptoms.”

Pulmonary critical care physician Dr. John C. Williams with Lafayette General Medical Center says this treatment isn’t for every COPD patient but he prescribes it whenever he can.

“We try to manage symptoms. We try to keep patients out of the hospital. We try to improve their quality of life so that they can stay at home where they want to be and not at the er or in my clinic all the time with symptoms.”

Dr. Frazier says only five percent of COPD patients are using this at- home ventilation treatment.

He hopes to bring awareness to help save more lives.

In Lafayette, Megan Kelly, KLFY News 10.