COPD & Emphysema Treatments

If you have minimal impairment, your doctor will recommend minimal therapy; if your disease has progressed, your doctor can offer you other treatment options.

COPD Treatments

At any stage of COPD, smoking cessation is the primary component of your treatment and the single most important intervention. Our physicians can help you stop smoking with medications, patches, group therapy and other proven methods.

Additional COPD Treatments

Your doctor will design an individualized treatment plan for you to treat the severity of your condition as well as your particular lifestyle needs.

Medications

Short-acting bronchiodialators—inhalers which contain Albuterol or Ipratopum or a combination of the two and generally last 4-6 hours
Long-acting bronchiodialators—taken once or twice a day
Anti-inflammatory medications—inhaled corticosteroids and used in combination with long-acting bronchiodialators

Pulmonary Rehabilitation

We recommend rehabilitation to help you with normal daily activities that have become difficult due to shortness of breath and fatigue. Mount Sinai provides an exercise program based on your abilities, coupled with patient education. Even those with advanced COPD can benefit from pulmonary rehab.

Oxygen Therapy

Not all patients with COPD need supplemental oxygen. Your oxygen level is measured by a meter placed on your fingertip, and if the level is low, your doctor will prescribe oxygen use.

Surgery for COPD

Rarely, patients who have COPD can benefit from pulmonary surgery. We offer a non-invasive surgical procedure performed by a pulmonologist, or a more complex surgery performed by a thoracic surgeon.

Emphysema Treatments

If you are suffering from emphysema, we emphasize smoking cessation and environmental management to reduce the number of irritants that you inhale. Your doctor recommends quality of life changes as part of your treatment to help you manage your symptoms.

Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency Center

The Mount Sinai Health System has the only designated Center of Excellence for the treatment of Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency. Alpha-1 is a genetic condition that is passed from parents to their children and may result in serious lung and/or liver disease at various stages of life. We have pulmonologists who work with a multidisciplinary team of geneticists and hepatologists to provide care for patients with Alpha-1. Our physicians are involved in an National Registry supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for patient with Alpha-1 and we also host support groups at regular intervals. For more information, call (212) 523-5471.