The problem
COPD and asthma together affect roughly 650 million people. Each year, millions of exacerbations are treated only after they have already begun. The cost is measured in lung function, hospital days, and lives.
WHO / GBD pooled estimates, 2023
COPD, global mortality ranking
Post-hospitalization decline is often irreversible
Why current care misses the warning
The tools are not bad. They are simply not built for the shape of chronic respiratory disease: slow, subtle, and continuous.
Most patients get a spirometry test every three to six months. Their breathing can change in weeks. Between visits, the curve is invisible, so the first warning is often an emergency.
People adapt to gradual decline. What feels like a normal Tuesday is a measurable deterioration from three months ago. Self-report consistently understates the real change, because the baseline has shifted in the patient's own perception.
Respiratory symptom recall literature
Most exacerbations are days underway before a patient reaches out. At that point, treatment is harder, more expensive, and less likely to return the patient to their previous stable state.
Exacerbation onset-to-care studies
This is the gap Rezpio was built to close.