I cannot believe I am actually asking this question. I have been through pulmonary rehab and I think I KNOW the answer is NO. But I want to make sure.
Here's the background. I am 54 and diagnosed with moderate/severe COPD in fall 2019. My main symptom on diagnosis was SOB after climbing a long hill. I can stop for 5 seconds at the top and catch my breath. But I have come to HATE hills because of how uncomfortable I feel and as a reminder that I have COPD.
We are looking at houses - we've been in our current home for 20 years and it is time to move. We want to plan for aging in place and we are looking at houses with first floor master bedrooms. Anyway, there is a perfectly OK house we found in a mostly flat community. A pricey, dull house that is small but close in...and then there is the whiz-bang, gorgeous dream home. The downside is that is is a hilly community, about 12 miles outside of town. And I mean HILLY. The house itself has a flat driveway. The backyard slopes down a lot, but I don't spend a ton of time outside in my yard anyway. The yard isn't the issue, but I am wondering if the hills in the community are?
Is it dangerous for someone with moderate/severe COPD to climb hills? Or is it just uncomfortable?