Research Helps Anxious, Depressed Patients Breathe Easy, Remain Calm

Veteran Ervin Herr has had problems with his lungs since he was a kid, but he didn’t understand why. He was always short of breath, had complications with asthma, and suffered from extreme allergies to animals, especially horses.

About 10 years ago, Herr had a heart attack and then a stroke. It was around this time he realized that his anxiety brought on fear, and fear brought on doubt. Looking at Herr’s condition, doctors at the Houston VA Medical Center thought he was a good candidate for the RADAR Program.

Research Aimed at Depression and Anxiety Reduction, known as RADAR, is a program led by Mark Kunik, M.D., a geropsychiatrist who has been with the hospital for the past nine years. Currently, in his affiliation with the VA Health Service Research Group, Kunik, who is also an associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Baylor College of Medicine, recently obtained a VA grant to study educational interventions of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and anxiety/depressive symptoms.

RADAR is a study to see if education classes might help veterans with these types of problems. The study is a randomized, control trial in which participating veterans are assigned to one of two eight-week education programs. Following the eight weeks, patients are evaluated every three months to obtain assessments. Neither the health care professionals nor the patients know which group the patients are assigned to, since they are trying to determine which group is more helpful to patients that have chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

American Lung Association statistics show that the annual cost in the United States for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is approximately $30.4 billion. This includes health care expenses of $14.7 billion, and indirect costs of $15.7 billion.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease includes emphysema, lung disease, chronic bronchitis, and asthma and causes irreversible lung damage. With emphysema, the walls between the air sacs within the lungs lose their ability to stretch and recoil. They become weakened and break. Elasticity of the lung tissue is lost, causing air to be trapped in the air sacs and impairing the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide. A victim’s airway looses its support, allowing for obstruction of airflow.

An estimated 2.8 million Americans will be diagnosed with emphysema sometime in their life. Of emphysema sufferers, 58 percent are male. While more men suffer from the disease than women, the condition is increasing among women.

Symptoms of emphysema include chronic cough, shortness of breath, and a limited exercise tolerance. These are symptoms that Herr knows very well. He never understood why, as a kid playing sports, he couldn’t keep up with the rest of the children. But he still tried. At the Houston VA Medical Center, he tries to get as much exercise as he can, walking around the hospital, and back to his room. However, he does concede that it is hard to exercise when it is difficult to breathe.

“I’ve got too many things to do to let this illness slow me down,” Herr said. “The power of this program has brought out a lot of faith in me. For somebody who has trouble breathing and is distressed and stressed out all the time, this program gives answers and ultimately some relief.”

The RADAR study at the Houston VA Medical Center offers many options for the chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patient, and does not interfere with other hospital treatments. Participation in the program is free. For more information, call (713) 794-8692.

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