For many of us, 2020 has been a challenging year. But as with any obstacle, people all over the country continue to persevere and work together to help those who may be at greater risk of complications due to the recent pandemic.
As we gear up for the New Year ahead, we wanted to share our top 10 SmartVest blog posts from 2020 that we created to help educate both patients and clinicians to help understand the relationship between COPD and bronchiectasis, as well as treatment options for both conditions.
Top 10 SmartVest Blog Posts
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How to Get Rid of Mucus Buildup in the Lungs
Who knew that mucus played such a vital role in protecting our bodies from airborne bacteria and allergies? But for people living with a chronic lung condition, mucus has a harder time performing this essential task. In this blog, we explored the topic of mucus build up and shared ideas on how patients can effectively remove mucus buildup and prevent vulnerabilities to infection. -
Understanding the Difference between Bronchiectasis and COPD
Because bronchiectasis and COPD share many similarities, including fatigue, shortness of breath, chronic cough, and respiratory infections, their comorbidity often goes undetected by clinicians. What happens next? If a patient is diagnosed with COPD when they actually have a prevalence of bronchiectasis symptoms, it’s less likely they’ll be prescribed an effective airway clearance treatment to manage both conditions.This blog post helps shed light on the differences of both conditions to better equip patients with the knowledge they need to have an open conversation with their clinician about getting tested for bronchiectasis. -
Living with Bronchiectasis or COPD? What You May Need to Know about COVID-19
How do we best protect ourselves and loved ones from a pandemic? We first need to understand how a virus like COVID-19 affects those living with a preexisting lung condition. In this blog, we explored how COVID-19 affects the lungs and described how patients living with bronchiectasis and COPD, and their loved ones, can take precautionary steps to help slow the spread of this virus and protect their health long term. -
Why COPD Patients Should Know More About Bronchiectasis
Although bronchiectasis is gaining more attention from pulmonary experts across the globe, the fact remains that it is still an underdeveloped area of study. How does this affect COPD patients? Of the millions of Americans living with COPD, many may be unaware that they are also experiencing bronchiectasis symptoms.We created this blog to help educate COPD patients on this growing phenomenon and provided real-life testimonials of patients who discovered that they, too, were living with both conditions but now are experiencing relief, thanks to SmartVest. -
What is Chest Physiotherapy?
This article sought to explain the key differences between manual CPT (chest physiotherapy) and vest therapy (SmartVest). We further examined the effectiveness of the two types of treatment options for patients living with bronchiectasis. What we found was that patients who received vest therapy could expect greater benefits like performing therapy independently and on a more consistent schedule. -
3 Signs of Bronchiectasis for Those Living with COPD
Understanding that bronchiectasis and COPD share similarities is step one. Having the ability to recognize these similarities is the next essential step towards getting the right treatment for managing your symptoms. This article highlights the top 3 early indicators of COPD patients living with a prevalence of bronchiectasis. -
Bronchiectasis: Why This Chronic Lung Disease is Not Well Known
It may surprise you, but one of the common reasons why bronchiectasis is lesser known than COPD is due to the fact that some clinicians don’t learn about this chronic condition in medical school. In this article, we reference Dr. Frederic Seifer, a renowned pulmonologist, who helped us answer why bronchiectasis is often overlooked. -
Living with Bronchiectasis During the Holidays
Though the holidays are a wonderful time of year, the colder temperatures and drier air conditions can make your bronchiectasis-related symptoms worsen. This article aims to educate patients on how the winter months can affect your chronic symptoms and includes tips on how to mitigate this type of risk, so you can enjoy your gatherings without the chronic coughing or fatigue. -
Common Misconceptions About HFCWO Therapy
What exactly is HFCWO therapy? It’s a respiratory vest that offers an effective airway clearance treatment to help patients manage their chronic pulmonary conditions, including COPD, bronchiectasis, and cystic fibrosis. Believe it or not, there are some misconceptions about this approach to managing symptoms. This blog works to fact check these myths and shine light on the effectiveness and comfort of HFCWO therapy devices, like SmartVest. -
How Serious is Bronchiectasis?
This article provides a comprehensive breakdown of what bronchiectasis is, how common it is among patients, and how treatment, like SmartVest, can help you experience symptom relief and take a proactive approach to managing your condition and get back to living life to its fullest potential.
