GCE Group is a world leader in healthcare equipment including oxygen concentrators, oxygen regulators, hospital ward equipment, and resuscitation devices. In the video above, we take a look at their flagship portable oxygen concentrator, the GCE Zen-O Lite.

Despite being a lesser-known brand in the United States, GCE’s portable oxygen concentrator holds its own against top-rated oxygen devices like the Caire FreeStyle Comfort and the Inogen One G5. The GCE Zen-O Lite has a number of unique benefits to offer which can help oxygen patients regain the freedom and independence they deserve.

Watch the video above to see a full unboxing of the GCE Zen-O Lite and continue reading to learn more about the outstanding benefits of this portable oxygen concentrator.

New Ways to Customize Your Oxygen Delivery

When it comes to total oxygen output, the GCE Zen-O Lite is nothing to joke about. On a maximum flow setting of 5, the Zen-O Lite puts out 1,050 milliliters per minute (ml/min) of oxygen, the same as the Caire FreeStyle Comfort, our top selling portable oxygen concentrator. However, one of the unique benefits of the Zen-O Lite is that it has half settings rather than whole settings like most POCs on the market. In other words, you have twice as many flow rates to choose from.

When you’re out and about, having this freedom can be life-changing. Whether you’re simply going for a walk or doing something more strenuous, you can adjust your oxygen flow on the fly to suit your needs. However, before making any changes to your oxygen flow, be sure to discuss your oxygen needs with your doctor. Inhaling too much or too little oxygen can put you at risk of exacerbation or oxygen toxicity. View the table below to learn about the oxygen output for each flow rate on the Zen-O Lite.

Designed for an Active Lifestyle

Being diagnosed with a chronic lung disease like COPD can feel like the weight of the world is on your shoulders. The thought of not being able to get around like you used to can be a significant challenge to overcome. But the truth is, many oxygen patients are using outdated oxygen equipment that’s holding them back from living life on their own terms. 

While oxygen tanks have long been the standard for home oxygen delivery, they simply don’t meet the needs of modern oxygen users. Oxygen tanks are heavy, bulky, and difficult and expensive to refill. While liquid oxygen units solve some of these issues, they’re still incredibly expensive and difficult to use. And above all, neither oxygen tanks or liquid oxygen devices are approved by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) so you won’t be able to take a flight while using oxygen.

The GCE Zen-O Lite, on the other hand, weighs in at only 5.5 pounds and it’s very compact at only 9.25” H x 9.8” W x 3.8” D. Using this POC is comparable to carrying an average purse or handbag and it has a sleek and uniform design that doesn’t draw attention like oxygen tanks do. What’s more, every GCE Zen-O Lite comes included with a convenient and comfortable carrying case that will keep your device secure when you’re on the go. You’ll also get an accessory bag to carry things like extra batteries, an external battery charger, and your AC and DC power supplies.

Easy to Set Up and Use

In this day and age, the last thing anyone needs is something that’s going to further complicate their lives. From working to paying the bills, you already have enough to worry about, so it’s understandable if you want an oxygen delivery device that doesn’t add any unnecessary obstacles to overcome throughout your day. Fortunately, the experts over at GCE have specifically designed the Zen-O Lite with these needs in mind.

Straight out of the box, you’ll see just how easy this portable oxygen concentrator is to use. There are only five buttons on the Zen-O Lite in total: one to power the device on and off; one to display your battery life; one to adjust alarm settings; and two to adjust your flow rate up or down. Replacing the battery is as simple as pressing the tab on the bottom of the unit to remove the panel.

While the video above will show you exactly how to unpack and start using the GCE Zen-O Lite, we recommend reading through the user manual at some point. It will provide you with important details about your device such as what the different alarms mean, how to maintain and clean your device, and other useful information.

Reliable and Durable

As you’re probably well aware, your oxygen needs don’t simply go away. When you buy an oxygen device, you need something that will be suitable for you in the long term, not just a couple of days or weeks. Many COPD patients require supplemental oxygen 24/7, so they need an oxygen device that can keep up with these high demands.

Thankfully, the GCE Zen-O Lite is an extremely durable, reliable, and well-built machine that can run around the clock without issue. If you use oxygen while you’re sleeping, you can rest assured that the Zen-O Lite will closely monitor your breathing and ensure that you receive the optimal bolus of oxygen to help you sleep restfully. Since GCE is a global leader in oxygen technology, you can be sure that your concentrator is built with the most high-quality parts.

Give Us a Call Today!

Here at LPT Medical, we’re proud to offer GCE products like the Zen-O continuous flow portable oxygen concentrator and the Zen-O Lite pulse dose portable oxygen concentrator. These oxygen machines have stood the test of time and enabled thousands of people across the country to regain their freedom and independence while still receiving the oxygen they need. It’s important to us that you receive an oxygen device that meets your needs and budget, so be sure to reach out to our oxygen concentrator specialists if you have any questions or concerns.

GCE Zen-O Lite Specs:

Although COPD is known primarily as a lung disease, some of its most serious complications have to do with the heart. People with COPD tend to struggle with a variety of cardiovascular symptoms and complications, including cardiovascular disease, heart attacks, and heart failure.

Heart disease is the number one cause of death in the US, and is also one of the most common killers of people with COPD. However, the risk of heart attacks and heart failure for COPD patients is significantly higher than it is in the general population, even in patients who don't have other heart problems.

Because of this, keeping your heart and cardiovascular system healthy is a critical part of COPD treatment. Keeping your heart strong can actually reduce COPD symptoms as well as prevent serious, life-threatening complications like heart attacks.

In this article, we're going to explain how COPD affects the heart and why the disease raises your risk of having a heart attack. We'll also show you what you can do to prevent heart attacks and keep your heart healthy with COPD.

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Symptoms of a Heart Attack

A heart attack happens when your blood vessels become so narrowed that it cuts off blood flow to the heart. This can happen as a result of a blood clot, high blood pressure, and clogged arteries, which are often the result of heart disease.

Doctors and researchers don't fully understand exactly why many heart attacks happen, or through what exact mechanism COPD causes sudden heart attacks. However, they do understand the major risk factors, which include smoking, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, obesity, stress, and diabetes.

The earlier you get treatment for a heart attack, the more likely you are to survive and avoid serious, permanent damage to your heart. Because of this, it's very important to know the symptoms of a heart attack and how to recognize them, especially if you have COPD.

However, heart attacks don't feel the same for every person and the symptoms can vary widely from case to case. Some people experience severe chest pain or fainting, while some feel little pain or hardly any symptoms at all.

Some heart attacks happen suddenly, with little warning and few symptoms, but some develop slowly over the course of hours, days, or weeks. The most reliable symptom to look for is chest pain, especially chest pain that gets worse with activity and gets better with rest.

Here are some of the most common symptoms of a heart attack:

• Chest pain that may feel like any of the following: pressure, tightness, squeezing, or aching.
• Chest pain that spreads to your arm, neck, jaw, or back.
• Heartburn
• Abdominal pain
• Nausea
• Shortness of breath
• Sudden dizziness or lightheadedness
• Fainting
• Cold sweating
• Fatigue

If you notice the symptoms of a heart attack, you should seek medical attention immediately. Have someone drive you to an emergency room or call 911 right away.

Don't ever ignore the warning signs of a heart attack; it's better to get checked by a doctor—even if it might be nothing—than to wait too long and risk suffering severe heart damage or death. Getting to an emergency room at the first sign of a heart attack will give you the greatest chance of recovery.

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How COPD Raises Heart Attack Risk

People with COPD tend to get heart disease earlier and are more likely to suffer heart failure and die from cardiovascular problems. Even COPD patients who don't have cardiovascular disease or other heart complications have a much higher risk of sudden cardiac death.

According to one study, living with COPD more than doubles your risk of sudden cardiac death, and the risk gets even higher for patients who have worse COPD symptoms and complications. Because of this, researchers are beginning to consider COPD an independent risk factor for heart disease and heart attacks, akin to high blood pressure and diabetes.


To understand why COPD causes heart attacks, you have to understand how the disease affects the cardiovascular system, including the heart, blood vessels, and pulmonary arteries (blood vessels in the lungs). These critical organs and tissues sustain damage over time as your body is affected by COPD, eventually leading to complications like cardiovascular disease, heart attacks, and heart failure.

The Heart-Lung Connection

Heart disease is a leading cause of death for all people in the US, not just people with COPD. However, COPD patients' heart problems are directly tied to their disease, which damages the heart in a specific way.

To understand how COPD causes heart problems, you have to first understand how the function of heart and lungs are intimately and inextricably linked. The heart and lungs work together in synchrony to supply your body with oxygen and remove waste, like carbon dioxide, from you body's tissues. If either organ is damaged, the other organ, and the whole cardiovascular-respiratory system, suffers too.

In fact, it's hard to overstate how much the heart and lungs rely on one another to function. The heart takes in oxygen-poor blood from the body and pumps it straight into the lungs to become oxygenated again. As the blood travels through the pulmonary arterties (blood vessels in the lungs), it absorbs oxygen and goes right back into the heart, where it pumps the now-oxygen-rich blood back throughout the body.

But in order to absorb oxygen, your blood must pass through the alveoli, the tiny air sacs in your lungs that allow oxygen to pass from the air into your blood. However, people with COPD have many damaged, non-functioning alveoli, so they aren't able to absorb as much oxygen as healthy lungs can.

COPD also causes inflammation in the lungs, which further damages alveoli and reduces the lung's ability to absorb oxygen even more. Eventually, lung function declines so much that the blood that passes through the pulmonary arteries doesn't get fully oxygenated, resulting in low blood oxygen saturation levels (a condition known as hypoxemia).

How COPD Strains the Cardio-Respiratory System

The main problem that people with COPD have is that their lung function is severely limited. Damaged air sacs and airway obstruction makes it difficult for the lungs to absorb enough oxygen causing serious respiratory symptoms and hypoxemia.

Hypoxemia is very bad for your body, and the heart tries to compensate for the low blood oxygen levels by pumping faster and harder. This increases the blood pressure in your lungs, which in turn creates extra back-pressure on the heart as it tries to squeeze extra blood into the pulmonary arteries.

Over time, the back-pressure that it puts on the heart causes the heart to swell and enlarge. This makes the heart walls weaker and makes it even more difficult for your heart to pump blood. These lung problems get worse and worse over time, all the while putting more and more strain and pressure on the heart.

This cycle continues, and, over time, makes your heart larger, weaker, and less effective at pumping blood through your body. As your COPD gets more severe, so does the strain on your heart, which significantly increases your risk for heart attacks and heart failure.

Pulmonary hypertension can also happen when blood vessels in the lung become narrowed and stiffened, as a result of airway obstruction caused by COPD. This also causes high blood pressure in the lungs and creates back-pressure in the heart every time it tries to pump blood into the pulmonary arteries.

Over time, this enlarges and weakens the heart, making it more and more difficult to pump blood through the lungs. If the heart becomes too weak and enlarged, it can fail, causing right-sided heart failure.

COPD and Cardiovascular Disease

Recent studies have shown that cardiovascular disease is much more common in people with COPD than was once believed. Researchers believe that this may be directly related to inflammation rather than breathing problems related to COPD.

COPD causes chronic inflammation throughout the body, not just in your lungs. One of the places this inflammation does the most damage is in the arteries, where it leads to plaque build-up and cardiovascular disease.

Beacause of this, inflammation is another major factor contributing to the increased incidence of cardiovascular disease in COPD patients. Cardiovascular disease includes high blood pressure, stroke, heart disease, coronary artery disease, and artherosclerosis.

How to Reduce Your Risk of Heart Attacks and Heart Failure if You Have COPD

Now that you understand how COPD causes heart attacks and cardiovascular complications, you need to know how to protect your heart from the strain caused by the disease. Luckily, there are plenty of things you can do in your everyday life to strengthen your heart and improve your cardiovascular health.

In this next section, we'll show you how to make heart-healthy choices and reduce your risk of having a heart attack if you have COPD. We'll give you a variety of tips and techniques for reducing your risk of COPD-related heart complications including how to monitor your blood oxygen, eat a heart healthy diet, and how to exercise for a healthy heart.

Stop Smoking

A history of smoking is a major link in the relationship between COPD and heart attacks. In fact, people who smoke are up twice as likely to suffer a heart attack compared to non-smokers.

Smoking also leads to high blood pressure and significantly increases your risk for cardiovascular disease. It also affects the balance of cholesterol in your blood and causes plaque to build up in your arteries.

That's not even mentioning the devastating effect that smoking has on your lungs, especially when you already suffer from COPD. Smoking will worsen your symptoms, increase your risk of having COPD exacerbations, and lead to quicker lung function decline.

If you need help to quit smoking, talk to your doctor about quit-smoking medications or programs in your area. You can also visit the CDC's website for a variety of quit-smoking materials and links to smoking cessation guides from the American Lung Association, American Heart Association, and the American Cancer Society.

Prevent COPD Exacerbations

Exacerbations are a major cause of heart attacks in people with the COPD. In fact, experiencing an exacerbation can significantly increase your risk of a heart attack for days or even weeks after after you recover.

One study showed that a patient's heart attack risk is more than doubled for up to five days after an exacerbation. This likely happens because exacerbations cause an increase in a variety of COPD symptoms responsible for putting extra strain on the heart.

Increased respiratory symptoms experienced during an exacerbation, like worsened airway obstruction and shortness of breath, can lead to hypoxemia and put a great deal of pressure on the heart. Exacerbations also tend to increase inflammation in the body, including the blood vessels, which can worsen cardiovascular disease and raises your risk of heart attack.

Exacerbations are also very difficult to recover from, and in some cases results result in a permanent worsening of COPD symptoms. This is bad for both your heart and lungs. By reducing the number of exacerbations you experience, you may be able to preserve your lung function longer and prevent permanent increases in the level of strain that the disease puts on your heart.

Other studies have shown that respiratory infections can increase heart attack risk even in people who don't have COPD. One study found that people who have experienced heart attacks in the past are up to seventeen times more likely to have a heart attack within a week following recovery from a respiratory infection.

This shows how serious of an effect respiratory problems can have on the heart in the short term, and highlights why it's so important for people with COPD to minimize their symptoms and avoid getting sick. Even a minor respiratory illness can cause exacerbations and make COPD symptoms much worse, which can quickly lead to life-threatening events like respiratory failure or a heart attack.

Exacerbations are usually caused by respiratory illnesses and infections, but they can also be caused by exposure to respiratory irritants like allergens and air pollution.

Here are some more tips for preventing COPD exacerbations and heart attacks:

• Too much mucus in your lungs and airways can trap bacteria and cause you to get sick. To prevent mucus build-up and reduce airway obstruction, use airway clearance techniques to move the mucus up and out of your lungs and airways.
• Avoid spending time with or near anyone who is sick, including children. Whenever possible, stay away from sick people's homes and belongings until they have fully recovered.
• Protect yourself from germs when you're out in public places. Wash your hands after touching public surfaces and carry hand sanitizer with you for when you can't use a sink.
• Avoid going to crowded places during the winter months when many contagious illnesses spread. Try to schedule visits to museums, convention centers, concerts, and sporting events outside of cold and flu season or go when they are less crowded.
• Protect your lungs from respiratory irritants like pollution, allergens, dust, and mold. They can cause exacerbations, worsen inflammation, and make your symptoms worse.
• Daily symptom management is key for preventing COPD exacerbations. Make sure you follow your COPD treatment plan carefully and take your medications as prescribed every day in order to keep your symptoms under control.

Make Exercise a Priority

Getting regular physical activity every week is an essential part of keeping your heart and cardiovascular system strong. It also helps strengthen your muscles and increase your endurance, which can improve your mobility and allow you to live a fulfilling, active life with COPD.

Exercise strengthens your heart in many ways, including by reducing blood pressure, improving blood circulation, and reducing stress and anxiety. It can also prevent strain on your heart caused by hypoxemia by strengthening your breathing muscles and helping your body use oxygen more efficiently.

The American Heart Association (AHA) recommends that you get at least thirty minutes of exercise five days a week for a healthy heart. It doesn't matter much whether you do thirty minutes all at once, or break it up into a few ten-minute sessions to do throughout the day.

However, getting daily exercise doesn't mean that you have to join a gym or start lifting heavy weights. Even just walking, doing aerobics, or doing basic body weight or chair exercises is usually enough to stay in shape.

The most important thing is to do what you can manage and get moving right away. Even if you can't meet the AHA's guidelines, getting some activity is always better than getting none.

For example, studies show that walking as little as thirty minutes a day can reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease by 18% and reduce your risk of heart attack by 35%. Some studies even show that walking is just as effective as running or jogging for preventing high blood pressure, diabetes, and heart disease.

COPD can make it difficult to exercise, but having the disease makes it more vital than ever to get more physical activity. It's necessary for your lungs, your heart, your overall health, and for maintaining your mobility and quality of life.

If you struggle with exercise because of severe shortness of breath or other COPD symptoms, talk to your doctor for advice. He might be able to recommend activities or exercises classes tailored to your ability level or refer you to a pulmonary rehabilitation class.

Monitor Your Blood Oxygen With a Pulse Oximeter

As we discussed earlier, people with COPD are particularly prone to experiencing hypoxemia, or low oxygen saturation levels in their blood. This happens when your lungs aren't able to absorb enough oxygen, and tends to occur most often during exercise, bouts of breathlessness, exacerbations, and during sleep.

Hypoxemia puts extra strain on both your heart and lungs and can lead to a variety of serious complications over time. That's why many COPD patients use supplemental oxygen; by providing concentrated oxygen to their lungs, it allows them to absorb more oxygen and prevent their blood oxygen saturation levels from falling too low.

One problem with preventing hypoxemia and using supplemental oxygen is that it can be difficult to know when your blood oxygen saturation falls below normal levels. Watching out for the external signs and symptoms of hypoxemia, like breathlessness and fatigue, is important, but they can be difficult to catch, especially if you experience chronic COPD symptoms every day.

Luckily, there's an easy, cheap solution for keeping an eye on your blood oxygen saturation levels and preventing hypoxemia: a home pulse oximeter. It's a small, non-invasive device that can read your blood oxygen levels by shining an infrared light through your skin.

Pulse oximeters are extremely simple to operate and can be used to check your blood oxygen saturation over and over. It takes only a few seconds to take a reading which makes it a great way to monitor yourself for hypoxemia throughout the day, especially when you sleep, exercise, or feel short of breath.

Your pulse oximeter can also help you learn when to use your supplemental oxygen if you've been prescribed oxygen therapy during the day. It can also give you an early warning of severe hypoxia, a medical emergency that occurs when your blood oxygen levels fall so low that it starves your organs of oxygen.

If you suffer from COPD-related heart problems, a home pulse oximeter can be an invaluable tool for monitoring your heart health and preventing heart attacks. By helping you keep your blood oxygen saturation at a healthy level and warning you when it drops too low, having a personal pulse oximeter could even save your life.

Pulmonary Rehabilitation

Pulmonary rehabilitation is a type of special class designed specifically for people who have COPD and other respiratory diseases. It's a solution recommended often to patients who struggle with a variety of aspects related to their health and managing COPD, including those struggling with heart problems.

Pulmonary rehabilitation is one of the best ways to learn all about how to manage your symptoms and overcome all the different challenges of living with COPD. It's kind of like a variety show that covers all kinds of different, yet related, topics, except each class focuses on a different aspect of living with a respiratory disease.

Through pulmonary rehabilitation, you can practice and build up the skills that can help you keep your heart strong and prevent other COPD complications. Most courses cover most or all of the techniques for heart health that we will discussed in this article, including exercise, breathing techniques, stress management strategies, and proper medication use.

Pulmonary rehabilitation also helps you build the skills needed to keep your heart healthy and stave off COPD-related heart complications like heart attacks and cardiovascular disease. In fact, pulmonary rehabilitation is often referred to as “cardiac and pulmonary rehabilitation” and is often recommended to people who have suffered cardiac events like heart attacks or heart failure.


Attending a pulmonary rehabilitation class is also great opportunity to learn from and ask questions to a variety of medical professionals who are knowledgeable about COPD. You'll also get to meet other COPD patients and the chance to get social and emotional support from your peers.

If you have trouble managing your disease or suffer from COPD-related heart problems, talk to your doctor about enrolling in pulmonary rehabilitation. You will need a referral from your doctor since classes are often in high demand and can sometimes be difficult to get into.

Eat a Heart-Healthy Diet

Activities of daily living (ADL) is a term that was first coined by Sidney Katz in 1950. Essentially, it refers to the basic functions that an individual must perform on a daily basis in order to be considered self-sufficient. By better understanding the level of independence of patients with debilitating illnesses like COPD, osteoporosis, or Alzheimer’s Disease, medical professionals are able to make better decisions for their patient’s well-being such as recommending medical equipment or an assisted living facility. Activities of daily living are generally divided into five distinct categories:

Personal Hygiene - bathing, grooming, hair care, and oral health

Continence - using the bathroom

Dressing - the ability to select clothing and dress for different occasions

Feeding - the ability to eat and drink

Ambulating - the ability to walk and move around independently

When it comes to managing your daily life with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), it’s very important to consider how your condition affects your ability to live independently. Studies have shown that ADLs can be very challenging for respiratory patients because they can lead to dyspnea (shortness of breath) and oxygen desaturation, meaning the percentage of oxygen in the blood is lower than what it should be.

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In this post, we’ll take a look at the importance of supplemental oxygen for carrying out activities of daily living. We’ll also show you why portable oxygen concentrators are the best device to use for maintaining your freedom and independence. If you have any questions about these units, please feel free to leave a comment or reach out to our respiratory specialists.

What is a Portable Oxygen Concentrator?

A portable oxygen concentrator is an electronic device used to administer medical-grade oxygen. POCs are the most state-of-the-art oxygen units on the market because they’re extremely lightweight and versatile. Using a POC, you’ll be able to go more places and do more things than if you had a standard compressed oxygen tank or liquid oxygen tank. Since they’re electronic devices, you simply need to have access to a source of power in order to recharge your batteries. You’ll never have the need to reach out to an oxygen company ever again to refill or deliver new tanks to your home!  

One of the greatest benefits of owning a portable oxygen concentrator is that they’re approved by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for in-flight use. What this means is that you can take your POC with you on any commercial flight within the United States. This is a freedom that COPD patients never had in the past because compressed oxygen tanks and liquid oxygen tanks are not allowed on flights for safety reasons. Upgrading your old outdated oxygen device to a portable oxygen concentrator quite literally opens up a world of possibilities! Without further ado, let’s take a look at why activities of daily living are so much easier when you have a portable oxygen concentrator.

Reduced Shortness of Breath

The human body has a complex system for managing breathing rate and breathing depth. Breathing is part of something called the autonomic nervous system which regulates involuntary physiologic processes like heart rate and blood pressure. However, you also have the ability to take control of your lungs through voluntary breathing. Exercises like deep breathing or controlled breathing are great for teaching you how to use your lungs more effectively.

One of the primary factors that affect respiratory rate is how much carbon dioxide is in the blood. When you are unable to expel air from the lungs fully — a problem that’s common among COPD patients — CO2 begins to build up in the bloodstream. This change in CO2 levels is detected by chemoreceptors which send a message to the medulla oblongata (the control center for the lungs) to increase respiratory rate. Other factors that affect respiratory rate and depth include atmospheric pressure, intra-alveolar pressure, and body temperature.

If you have COPD, interstitial lung disease, or any number of other respiratory conditions, the best way to reduce feelings of breathlessness is by increasing the concentration of oxygen in the lungs. By doing so, you will stabilize CO2 levels in your blood and the chemoreceptors will never send a message to your brain that you need to breathe quicker or more heavily. What this means when it comes to activities of daily living is that you won’t need to stop to catch your breath so frequently.

Using a portable oxygen concentrator throughout the day will prevent you from becoming breathless and thus reducing your chance of experience a COPD exacerbation. Many people find it difficult to keep up with their friends or loved ones because they need to stop to rest frequently. But with a portable oxygen concentrator, you can easily adjust the amount of oxygen you’re receiving based on how you’re feeling. It’s important to speak with your doctor, however, who will tell you what oxygen levels are acceptable.

Improved Mental Alertness

Your ability to complete daily tasks like eating, bathing, and cooking is equally reliant on your mental ability as it is your physical ability. When the oxygen levels in your blood are low this may result in brain hypoxia, also known as cerebral hypoxia, or low oxygen levels in the brain. Symptoms of brain hypoxia include temporary memory loss, impaired motor functions, confusion, lightheadedness, and more. 

Maintaining a “sharp” mind with age is notoriously difficult and living with a respiratory condition like COPD can make it even more challenging. However, by carrying a portable oxygen concentrator with you wherever you go and keeping your oxygen saturation at a healthy level, you’ll be able to rule out one potential cause of cognitive decline as you go about your daily life. Studies have found that there is a correlation between disease severity and cognitive decline, so the more you can do to slow the progress of COPD, the better off you will be in terms of your mental health as well.

A portable oxygen concentrator will provide you with a convenient and reliable source of oxygen as you go about your day. POCs like the Inogen One G5 and Caire FreeStyle Comfort simply need to be turned on and then you can adjust the flow setting however you need it. Then all you need to do is set it and forget it. Your POC will provide you with a steady supply of oxygen all day allowing you to go about your day with your oxygen needs out of mind. This will afford you the freedom to focus your attention on what you’re trying to accomplish rather than worrying about whether your needs are met.

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Another reason mental alertness is so important is for your safety. People experiencing cognitive decline, more specifically dementia, are at a higher risk of experiencing a fall. Like we discussed in a previous blog post, experiencing a fall, whether it’s inside or outside your home can be dangerous. Studies have also found that dementia patients are at a greater risk for car accidents. Whether you’re driving to the store or just doing chores around the house, maintaining your oxygen levels will keep your mind sharp so that you can navigate safely. 

Improved Exercise Tolerance

As you’re likely already aware, a healthy exercise routine is paramount to any COPD treatment plan. While exercise is important for everyone, it’s especially important for people with chronic lung conditions who need their lungs to perform as optimally as possible. Studies show that exercise increases the strength and function of muscles meaning that they require less oxygen. In other words, any form of exercise will benefit you in the long run. But if you want the best exercise routine, speak with your doctor about pulmonary rehabilitation. This is a type of exercise routine that focuses on your lungs and respiratory system as a whole.

When you’re exercising, the rate and depth of your breathing increase because your muscles need more oxygen. What’s more, your heart rate and blood flow increase in order to get that oxygen to the parts of the body that are being worked the most. Not only do your muscles need this oxygen in order to provide them with energy, but oxygenated muscles tend to recover and rebuild faster than muscles that do not get oxygen. So your body will feel more prepared to go through a strenuous exercise the next day. 

Without a doubt, portable oxygen concentrators are the best oxygen device for exercising. Most pulse dose concentrators weigh around 5 pounds and are no bigger than a handbag or purse, so taking one with you when you do your exercise routine is hassle-free. Concentrators like the Caire FreeStyle Comfort also have a lot of carrying options available for them so you can find one that works best for the type of workout you’re doing. The custom carrying case, for example, is great for walking or hiking, but if you’re doing something more involved like weight lifting, you might want to go for the FreeStyle Comfort backpack.

Improved Mobility

Mobility is oftentimes one of the most discussed issues when it comes to aging, and for good reason. The older we get, the more likely we are to suffer from debilitating conditions like osteoporosis, arthritis, impaired strength or balance, or dementia. COPD only makes these conditions worse by adding breathlessness, chest pain, and chronic fatigue to the mix. Sometimes, there isn’t one particular way of dealing with these issues, but instead, COPD patients should work with their doctor and loved ones to find the best solution for them.

While portable oxygen concentrators certainly don’t “solve” mobility issues, they can definitely help. Old outdated oxygen devices like oxygen tanks are extremely heavy and awkwardly shaped making it nearly impossible to navigate your home with ease. But when you upgrade to a POC, you’ll have a machine that you can carry around the house all day while completing chores and never feeling the need to set it down for a rest. If you use a mobility aid like a walker, wheelchair, or electric wheelchair, you can easily set your POC on your mobility for even more convenience and comfort.

Another benefit of having a portable oxygen concentrator is that it’s easier to prevent your oxygen tubing from getting tangled or tripping over it as you walk. Whether you carry your POC on your shoulder or your back, you won’t need to use long oxygen tubing. But since oxygen tanks are so heavy, you’ll need to use a rolling cart, meaning you’ll need to use much longer oxygen tubing. Many people find that their oxygen tubing gets tangled and wrapped around things while using an oxygen tank which is not only frustrating but dangerous as well.       

Conclusion

Activities of daily living are essential tasks that we need to perform each day in order to be independent. If COPD prevents you from doing one or more of these tasks, then you may need to consider hiring a part-time or full-time caretaker. Alternatively, you could invest in a medical oxygen device like a portable oxygen concentrator which allows you to extend your freedom and independence. Many COPD patients feel like they’re taken back in time when they get their first POC because they are able to do things they never thought would be possible after being diagnosed with COPD. 

One important thing to note is that oxygen is a controlled substance in the United States. In other words, you will need to have a prescription for medical oxygen from your doctor in order to purchase a portable oxygen concentrator. Whether you have a prescription or not, your best course of action is to give our respiratory specialists a call here at LPT Medical. If you don’t have the required paperwork to purchase a POC, we can reach out to your doctor for you. We’ll also walk you through the process of choosing a portable oxygen concentrator from start to finish. We’re also happy to announce that we now offer assistance with Medicare and medical financing so you can save as much money as possible on a new, used, or refurbished unit.

Give us a call or email us today for more information!

"Quality over quantity", we all know the saying, and there is a reason us here at LPT Medical are so keen about “quality” here is why: 

The better quality product the happier the customer and the more we can grow! We are not in the business of cutting corners because no one is getting anything positive out of the type of market. 

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If we can promise to offer our customers high quality portable oxygen concentrators we are doing our jobs right. In order to feel confident in our sales, we only work with reputable manufacturers in the industry.

This means we source products from brands like Inogen, Respironics, and others that we know from years of experience are going to fulfill our oxygen patients needs, but also give them a freedom and quality of life they wouldn't get with another oxygen device like an oxygen tank.

In this blog, we aren't talking about why and how portable oxygen concentrators are better than oxygen tanks. Instead we are discussing which types of portable oxygen concentrators are going to add value to you lives and which brands will not.

We get a lot of inquiries about the prices of portable oxygen concentrators, and it makes sense, these oxygen device aren’t cheap, and they are very rarely covered by insurance or medicare. 

Read this blog linked to learn more about insurance and portable oxygen concentrators .  

So why are they so valuable, and also how can you afford one? 

As with anything, there are “knock offs”, which are cheaply made replicates of a high quality goods that are sold at a lower price point. This low price point is attractive to many buyers, but what they don't know is that these goods actually costing them more money in the long run because they either don’t work properly, break easily, or something else and they have to buy another.

In the case of an oxygen device, buying knock off branded portable oxygen concentrators won’t just cost you more money, it will cost you your life.

Long term oxygen therapy, when used to treat a chronic illness such as chronic pulmonary respiratory disease (COPD) is a life saving therapy, and when done correctly, oxygen therapy  adds years to a hypoxic patient's life.

To be “done correctly” in this context means that oxygen patients must be getting the proper dose of oxygen depending on the state of their condition and the potency of medical grade oxygen that they would be getting if their oxygen was sourced from the hospital in tanks, meaning at least 88% oxygen. 

The air we breathe normally has oxygen with other gases mixed in, one being Nitrogen. Normal air is sufficient for someone that is healthy and does not have a respiratory disease, but for someone who’s lungs do not work well getting enough oxygen filtered  through their lungs and into other parts of their bodies is insufficient.

Pure medical grade oxygen helps lung patients filter the air they breathe so that it can be pumped through their blood and into muscle and tissues efficiently. 

Oxygen Tanks 

This is why having an oxygen tank is an option for respiratory patients to get their medical grade oxygen. Oxygen tanks are filled with medical grade oxygen, and its components are different from the air we breathe normally. However there are many downsides to owning an oxygen tank:

Oxygen tanks are heavy and cumbersome. For oxygen patients who already have trouble getting around are subjected to carry a hunk of metal around with them. Medical grade oxygen should be helping them maintain a healthy lung capacity and give them the ability to breathe easier, but the weight alone can contradict all of the benefits supplemental oxygen therapy has to offer. 

Tanks also require consistent refilling, this takes away time and money from oxygen patients who may not have much of either of those things. Waiting around for the oxygen delivery service to come to your home and refill your tanks takes up precious time you could be spending on your own accord doing what you prefer to be doing.

Getting the tanks refilled also costs money every time, and while the costs seem relatively low, most patients get their tanks refilled every other week, so over the years these little payments add up drastically. 

Travel is also a major factor for oxygen patients, and with tanks, don’t even think about getting on an airplane. And if you do decide to travel by plane, be ready you spend an arm and a leg renting an oxygen device for the plane and once you land at your destination. 

Portable Oxygen Concentrators 

The best and most affordable alternative for oxygen therapy devices is a portable oxygen concentrator (POC), but the type and brand of POC matters a lot, because a low quality device is not going to give the oxygen user the benefits they need from oxygen therapy. 

In order to reap the benefits of a POC and oxygen therapy, one must be willing to pay for a high quality device. 

Watch this short video to learn about the basic difference between a cheap POC devices that anyone can buy off of amazon, and a medically approved device sold by LPT Medical: 

LPT medical is a licensed distributor of oxygen devices, meaning we requires a doctor's prescription for you to order an oxygen from us. This is important for a number of reasons:

First of all, you know you are getting a reliable oxygen device that operates properly, but you also get a 3 year long warranty on new devices that gives you the peace-of-mind if something malfunctions with your device you will be covered. You also know that the device is purifying you oxygen so that it is meeting your necessary requirements for oxygen therapy. 

If you are interesting in learning about the Caire Freestyle Comfort that is displayed in this video, or any of our other device, please call us at 1(800)-946-1201.

Portable oxygen concentrators are state-of-the-art medical oxygen units designed for mobility, reliability, and ease of use. Anyone who has been prescribed supplemental oxygen by their doctor is a good candidate for these units because they enable you to maintain your freedom and independence while ensuring your oxygen needs are always met. In the video above, we unbox one of the most popular portable oxygen concentrators on the market — the Inogen One G5.

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Inogen is one of the top manufacturers in the industry, consistently putting out reliable and affordable devices like the Inogen One G3 and the Inogen One G4. Their latest portable oxygen concentrator, the Inogen One G5, introduces some new features and improves upon several aspects of its predecessors such as battery life, oxygen output, and weight. Continue reading below to learn more about what the Inogen One G5 has to offer.

Outstanding Oxygen Output

Millions of people around the world rely on medical oxygen to keep themselves safe and healthy. The problem is that traditional oxygen therapy devices like oxygen tanks are extremely bulky and difficult to maneuver, meaning you need to sacrifice a significant amount of your freedom just to use one. However, the experts over at Inogen were able to craft an oxygen device that’s compact, lightweight, and offers up to 6 oxygen pulse flow settings that you can easily adjust on the fly depending on your needs.

The Inogen One G5 offers more flow settings than any other pulse dose concentrator on the market. What this means for you is that you’ll have more versatility than ever before. For example, if you’re exercising and your blood oxygen levels drop, you’ll be able to increase your oxygen flow to accommodate this change. What’s more, the Inogen One G5 has something called Intelligent Delivery Technology® built into it which closely tracks changes in your breathing and adjusts the oxygen delivery accordingly. You can even use your G5 unit while you’re sleeping!

Ease of Use

These days, technology is progressing at the speed of light and it can feel like a full-time job trying to keep up with everything. So, it’s understandable if you are discouraged by the idea of learning yet another electronic device. However, you might be astonished to find out just how easy the Inogen One G5 is to use. Watch the video above to see how quick and painless it is to unbox the Inogen One G5 and start using it.

On the user interface, you’ll notice that there are only five buttons: one for turning the device on or off; two for adjusting the flow setting up or down; one for notifications; and one for volume. That’s it! There’s no need to spend hours reading through the user manual just to get started. If you want, you can even give one of our respiratory specialists here at LPT Medical a call and we’ll walk you through the basics of your device and answer any questions you may have.

Long-Lasting Battery

Unlike oxygen tanks which need to be refilled daily or weekly, you’ll simply need to charge the battery to keep your Inogen One G5 running. Since the G5 is an electronic device, you can recharge it using any wall or car outlet. There are two different battery options including the 8-cell battery and the 16-cell battery. The 8-cell comes standard with every G5 unit, but you can always upgrade to the 16-cell if you think you’ll need more battery life.

The G5 utilizes powerful lithium-ion batteries like the ones found in modern cell phones and laptops. The smaller 8-cell battery will provide you with up to 5 hours of operating time on a pulse dose setting of 2 while the 16-cell will provide 10 hours of use. If you want to carry more than one battery at a time, you can use an accessory called the external battery charger to charge two batteries at once. This is ideal for people who are on the go or travel frequently.

Approved by the FAA

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) oversees safety regulations for commercial flights within the United States. Normally, the FAA does not allow oxygen devices on aircraft because they can be a hazard to passengers. However, the Inogen One G5 is so safe that it has FAA approval for in-flight use. This means that you can finally start traveling across the country or world again to visit friends and family or take a well-deserved vacation. But before you do so, you need to have at least one and a half times the duration of your flight in battery life, and you need to contact your airline at least 48 hours in advance. This will afford you enough time to complete any paperwork that they may require.

Advantages of the Inogen One G5

• It’s compact and weighs under 5 pounds
• It’s reliable and can be used 24/7
• It offers 6 pulse flow settings
• It closely monitors your breathing for optimal oxygen delivery
• It’s approved by the FAA
• It’s easy to use, clean, and maintain
  
  

  {{cta('fa8abc2a-1e88-4fa3-82fd-1cb5b9ed43b2','justifycenter')}}Inogen One G5 Specs
  

  Weight	4.7 Pounds
  Dimensions	8.15" H x 7.19" L x 3.26" W
  Flow Settings	Pulse Settings 1-6
  Sound Level	37 dBA @ Setting 2
  Expected Battery Life	Up to 10 hours

With around 65 million patients worldwide, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is anything but uncommon. In fact, it’s one of the most prevalent lung conditions in the world behind asthma. However, despite these statistics, COPD is labeled an “invisible illness.” Many people suffer with this condition in silence, and society as a whole tends to stigmatize it by misunderstanding what its causes are and what life is like with this condition.

In previous blog posts, we’ve talked about how the Caire FreeStyle Comfort portable oxygen concentrator is breaking down barriers when it comes to the way people see COPD patients. Instead of having to struggle with heavy and bulky oxygen tanks, COPD patients are now able to get out of the house with ease, travel the world, and keep up with all of their friends and family. Caire FreeStyle Comfort users often attribute these things to the device's small form factor, lightweight design, and sleek indiscreet look.

If you want to learn more about the specifications of the Caire FreeStyle Comfort, feel free to visit this page and if you’d like to learn about the top benefits, please visit this page. In the meantime, however, we’re going to be taking a look at all of the accessories currently available for the Caire FreeStyle Comfort. We’ll link out to each accessory so that you can learn more about them and purchase one for an affordable price. And as always, if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to leave them in the comment section below so we can get back to you or refer you to one of our oxygen concentrator specialists.

Caire FreeStyle Comfort Carry Case

The first thing you need to decide when you purchase a portable oxygen concentrator is how you will carry it. You won’t be making full use of your concentrator if you aren’t getting out of the house and enjoying your newfound freedom, and you won’t be enjoying it to the fullest unless you’re using a carrying case that suits your lifestyle. One of the carrying cases we recommend for the FreeStyle Comfort is the custom carry case.

The FreeStyle Comfort carry case is designed to be simple and easy to use. It’s a thin cloth case that slips onto the bottom of your device. The top of your POC including the control panel will be accessible so you can easily make adjustments to your flow rate, check your battery life, and view any alerts on the screen. The device is held snugly in place so you won’t have to worry about it wobbling around or falling out while you’re walking. It also has an adjustable padded shoulder strap so you can find a length that’s comfortable for you.

This carrying case is perfect for anyone who wants to get out of the house and visit a friend, take a walk, or go to the grocery store. It’s best for anyone who prefers something sleek and easy to use as opposed to something with a lot of bells and whistles or unnecessary carrying space. While the Caire FreeStyle Comfort package already comes with this case, you can always buy one separately if yours is lost or stolen. 

Caire FreeStyle Comfort Backpack

It’s not uncommon for people with COPD to experience back, shoulder, or neck pain, weakness, or fatigue. Most COPD patients are older adults and meaning COPD patients are far more likely to experience these issues than the general population. We wrote a great article about coping with this type of pain, so be sure to check it out if you’re interested. In terms of portable oxygen, however, many people are unable to carry it over one shoulder like the custom carrying case is designed for.

The Caire FreeStyle Comfort backpack is designed for people who want to limit the amount of weight distributed to each shoulder so that you don’t experience any chronic pain. Unlike the backpack for the Inogen One G5 which has lots of carrying space, the FreeStyle Comfort one is relatively minimalistic allowing you to limit your carrying weight as much as possible. 

The Caire FreeStyle Comfort backpack is great for just about any activity you can think of. Whether you’re traveling with your POC or you want to get outside in golf when the weather's nice, this backpack will keep your oxygen unit snug to your back so that you can focus on enjoying your day. It also comes with adjustable padded shoulder straps to help you customize it to your liking. 

Caire FreeStyle Comfort Small Battery

Like all other portable oxygen concentrators, the Caire FreeStyle Comfort is powered by durable and reliable lithium-ion batteries. This is the same type of battery that’s found in your cellphone or laptop and it’s known for providing a long battery life without adding a lot of weight. When you purchase any Caire FreeStyle Comfort package it will come with one “small” 8-cell battery unless you choose to upgrade to a larger one. 

Compared to other portable oxygen concentrators on the market, the FreeStyle Comfort offers an outstanding battery life. Below you can see the expected battery life based on the flow setting that you’re using. As the flow rate increases, the battery life expectancy decreases. Keep in mind that over a very long period of time your battery might gradually lose its ability to hold a charge. Check out this guide to learn why lithium-ion batteries age and how to slow the rate that they deteriorate.  

Caire FreeStyle Comfort Large Battery

The other battery option available for the FreeStyle Comfort is the 16-cell battery (sometimes called the “double” battery). This battery is not sold with the concentrator unless you upgrade your package but it provides twice as much battery life as the 8-cell battery. Below you can see the expected duration based on the flow setting you’re using.

Ideally, before you purchase a POC, you will need to determine how much battery life you will need. If you live an active lifestyle or you travel a lot you might want to have one 16-cell battery and one 8-cell battery or even two 16-cell batteries. However, if you stay home a lot and have access to an outlet then you may be just fine with one 8-cell battery. Here at LPT Medical we always have great deals on batteries so we can help you get what you need.

Caire FreeStyle Comfort External Battery Charger

Normally, to charge your concentrator battery, it needs to be attached to your device. Then you can plug it into any electrical outlet. However, if you have more than one battery and want to keep them all charged at once, you’re going to need an external battery charger. This is a small and lightweight device that you attach to either your 8-cell or your 16-cell battery. 

The external battery charger will add a lot of convenience to your day. Rather than having to charge your batteries back-to-back, you can charge multiple batteries at once. In other words, if you only have a short amount of time at home before you have to leave, you’ll be able to have both your batteries ready to go by the time you leave the house.

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The external battery charger also has a very small form factor so if you’re trying to cut down on carry weight while you’re traveling, you won’t have to worry too much about it. 

Caire FreeStyle Comfort AC Adapter

An AC adapter is a cable that allows you to charge your POC via a wall outlet. The AC adapter comes standard with all Caire FreeStyle Comfort packages, but they are also sold separately in case yours is lost or stolen. This is a must-have accessory for the Caire FreeStyle Comfort because you won’t be able to charge your device at home if you don’t have one. It’s also important to note that if you’re traveling out of the country, you’ll need to use an adapter that will fit whichever region you’re in. You should also check the FreeStyle Comfort user manual to make sure the voltage is the same as the wall outlet you’re using.

Caire FreeStyle Comfort DC Car Adapter

A DC adapter is similar to the AC adapter but instead of plugging into a wall outlet, it plugs into the cigarette outlet in your car. This is incredibly useful if you want to have a way to charge your POC while you’re on a road trip. You can even use the oxygen concentrator while it’s charging, so there’s no downtime whatsoever. You can feel free to make as many stops as you want in order to take a break or do some sightseeing along the way.

One thing to note is that it’s best not to charge your portable oxygen concentrator while the car is off. If you drain the car’s battery too much you might not be able to get it started again. What’s more, some cars don’t even allow you to use the electrical outlets while the car is off and it’s to avoid this exact issue. For more information about charging your Caire FreeStyle Comfort in the car, please consult the user manual.

Conclusion

The Caire FreeStyle Comfort is one of the lightest, smallest, and most powerful pulse dose portable oxygen concentrators ever produced. It has an extremely low failure rate and it offers a wide range of accessories that help you make the most of it. Accessories like the backpack and custom carrying case provide you with options as to how you want to carry your device and devices like the external battery charger will significantly reduce the amount of time it takes you to recharge your batteries.

While the FreeStyle Comfort is a great fit for most oxygen patients, there are still a couple of other portable oxygen concentrators we happily recommend here at LPT Medical. The Inogen One G5, for example, is similar to the FreeStyle Comfort, however, it offers one additional pulse flow setting and the device weighs slightly less overall.

The Inogen One G4 is another great option if you’re looking to limit weight as much as possible. However, it has a lower flow rate and battery life as a result. If you’re someone who requires continuous flow oxygen, the Respironics SimplyGo is a great choice. It’s the lightest continuous flow ever made and it’s extremely durable and reliable. 

There are many types of home and portable oxygen concentrators out there, so if you’re confused about anything at all, please reach out to our respiratory specialists. We’ll walk you through the whole process of finding the device that’s right for your lifestyle needs and your budget.