Cardiovascular comorbidity in severe COPD patients

Introduction: Cardiovascular disease (CD) has an impact on the evolution and prognosis in patients with COPD. The aim of our study was to determine the prevalence of cardiovascular comorbidities in severe COPD patients. Methods: We included patients with COPD evaluated for lung transplant (LT) at the Hospital Universitari Vall D´Hebron Barcelona Spain, from January 2015 to September 2016. All patients underwent echocardiogram, blood analysis, respiratory lung function tests, and cardiac catheterism (CC) as part of the LT protocol. Results: Ninety-two patients with COPD were evaluated for LT during that period. 60.9% were men with a mean age of 48.9 years (SD=29.9). Mean tobacco exposure was 50 pack-years (SD=21,7) and 8.7% were current smokers. 40 patients (43.5%) had a BODE index ≥ 7 points and 63% were on long-term oxygen therapy. 23 patients (25%) had arterial hypertension and 21 (22.8%) had dyslipidemia. Up to 10% had a previous diagnosis of a CD: 4 (4.4%) patients had arrhythmia, 2 (2.2%) heart failure and 3 (3.2%) ischemic heart disease. The echocardiogram showed right ventricle dilatation in 9 patients (10.2%), and 4 had a left ventricle ejection fraction Conclusions: In this selective population of young and severe COPD patients evaluated for LT, the most frequent CD was PH followed by right heart failure and there was a low incidence of ACD.