Know when your lungs
are struggling - before
it becomes a crisis.
COPD flare-ups rarely appear out of nowhere. Your oxygen levels, symptoms, and inhaler use change days before a hospital visit. Ziva tracks them every day and tells you - and your care team - when something is shifting.
Used by people managing COPD alongside their doctor or respiratory team.
Ziva Health is an AI-powered health companion for managing conditions like COPD through daily tracking and personalised coaching. Isabella is Ziva's AI health coach - she monitors your oxygen levels, symptoms, and inhaler use every day, tells you what's changing in plain language, and alerts your care team when something needs clinical attention.
Three steps to staying ahead of your COPD.
COPD changes slowly —
until it doesn't.
Most COPD flare-ups have warning signs - a slight drop in SpO2, more breathlessness than usual, a change in sputum, more puffs on the rescue inhaler. Individually these can feel minor. Together they're a pattern. Isabella connects them every day and tells you what's changing before it becomes serious.
Your oxygen level is the
earliest signal of a flare-up.
SpO2 - the percentage of oxygen in your blood - drops days before you feel significantly worse. A single reading tells you where you are today. Isabella tracks the trend across days, compares it to your personal baseline, and alerts you and your care team the moment it crosses your threshold.
Rescue inhaler overuse is
a flare-up in slow motion.
When your reliever inhaler is the only thing keeping you comfortable, something bigger is happening. Isabella tracks your rescue inhaler use every day alongside your symptoms - breathlessness, sputum colour, wheeze, chest tightness - and correlates them with your SpO2 trend to see the full picture your care team needs.
Keep moving - but
at the right pace for today.
Exercise is one of the most evidence-based interventions for COPD - but the right amount varies day to day based on your SpO2, symptoms, and how you're feeling. Isabella matches its activity suggestions to your current status, so you stay active without pushing into distress.
Isabella builds your COPD
routine around your day.
The routine is the same every day - but what Isabella asks you to do within it adapts to how you feel. On a good SpO2 day, she'll encourage more activity. On a harder day, she'll pull back and help you manage symptoms. Consistent monitoring is the one thing that never changes.
Why daily monitoring works for COPD.
The evidence for continuous SpO2 and symptom monitoring in COPD is well established. This is what it shows.
Your care team should
see what you see.
Whether your respiratory team or GP already uses Ziva or is hearing about it for the first time - there are two things you can do right now. Both help you get better care.
What is COPD?
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is a chronic lung condition characterised by persistent airflow limitation. The lungs become inflamed and the airways narrowed, making breathing progressively harder. COPD encompasses two main patterns: chronic bronchitis (inflammation and excess mucus in the airways) and emphysema (damage to the air sacs that exchange oxygen). Most people have elements of both. COPD affects an estimated 16 million Americans and is a leading cause of disability and hospitalisation worldwide.
GOLD staging - how severe is yours?
COPD is classified by the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) using spirometry - specifically FEV1, the volume of air you can exhale in one second:
Causes and risk factors
- →Smoking — responsible for 70–80% of COPD cases; the single most important modifiable risk factor. Ex-smokers' rate of decline slows significantly after stopping
- →Long-term exposure to dust or fumes — occupational exposure to coal dust, silica, grain, or chemical fumes accounts for a significant minority of cases
- →Indoor air pollution — biomass fuel burning (wood, charcoal, dung) in poorly ventilated spaces is a major cause globally
- →Recurrent childhood respiratory infections — severe or frequent infections can impair lung development and accelerate adult COPD onset
- →Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency — a genetic condition that predisposes to early-onset emphysema even in non-smokers
Recognising an exacerbation
An exacerbation is a sudden worsening of COPD symptoms beyond your normal day-to-day variation. Most are triggered by respiratory infections (viral or bacterial) or air quality changes. Recognising them early is critical:
- →More breathless than your usual
- →More mucus than usual
- →Mucus colour changing to yellow/green
- →Rescue inhaler needed more often
- →SpO2 dropping from your baseline
- →SpO2 below 88% (or your threshold)
- →Severe breathlessness at rest
- →Lips or fingernails turning blue
- →Cannot complete a sentence
- →Confusion or rapid heart rate
Managing COPD day to day
- →Daily SpO2 monitoring — the earliest indicator of a coming exacerbation; catches changes before symptoms become severe
- →Maintenance inhaler adherence — long-acting bronchodilators and inhaled corticosteroids must be taken consistently; skipping doses increases exacerbation frequency
- →Smoking cessation — the single most effective intervention for slowing COPD progression at any stage
- →Pulmonary rehabilitation — structured supervised exercise programme; the most evidence-based non-pharmacological treatment for COPD
- →Trigger avoidance — cold air, smoke, high air pollution, and respiratory infections all worsen symptoms; planning around them reduces exacerbation frequency
- →Vaccinations — annual flu and pneumococcal vaccines significantly reduce exacerbation risk; COVID-19 vaccination is also recommended
What people ask.
Ziva Health is a wellness and health-coaching app. It is not a medical device and does not diagnose, treat, or prescribe. All content is for informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional - including your GP, pulmonologist, or respiratory nurse - for medical decisions about your COPD management.
Check your SpO2.
Isabella watches
for the pattern.
One reading every morning. Isabella tracks the trend, coaches your day, and alerts your care team 2–5 days before a flare-up becomes a crisis.
Free to start · Pulse oximeter ships to you · HIPAA compliant