L to R: Dr. Darlene Reid, Director of the Muscle Biophysics Laboratory, VCH Reseach Institute, patient, Dr. Pat Camp, Clinician-Scientist, UBC James Hogg Research Centre, IHLH, and Dr. Jordan Guenette, Assistant Professor, UBC Department of Physical Therapy
Dr. Darlene Reid from the Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute (VCHRI) and Drs. Pat Camp and Jordan Guenette from the UBC James Hogg Research Centre have received $150,000 to develop an optimal exercise and physical activity program for people living with chronic lung diseases. Dr. Reid and her team, which includes researchers with the Institute for Heart and Lung Health (IHLH), will be focusing on patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) – a type of lung disease that has no cure and is currently the fourth leading cause of death in Canada.
Awarded through the BC Lung Association, the funding will be used to equip research space to develop safe and effective exercise testing/training for people with chronic lung disease. The team will then incorporate these solutions into existing clinical pulmonary rehabilitation programs through knowledge exchange programs with pulmonary clinicians and chronic lung disease patients.
Maintaining a physically active lifestyle is especially important for people with COPD and other chronic lung diseases. Exercise training as part of a physical rehabilitation program has been shown to lessen COPD symptoms of breathlessness and fatigue, increase activity tolerance, and reduce hospital admissions and stays. As well, people with COPD who are physically active live longer.
For more information on VCH Research Institute, visit www.vchri.ca.