Margaret Tregonning and Carol Langley describe how pulmonary rehabilitation programmes can assist older people living with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Aims and intended learning outcomes

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a well-known but poorly understood condition. Although the main symptom is breathlessness, it can cause other problems for those with COPD and their family and friends. The aim of this article is to discuss some of these difficulties and to demonstrate how pulmonary rehabilitation can begin to overcome them. After reading this article you should be able to: