CT-Measured Lung Air-Trapping is Associated with Higher Carotid Artery Stiffness in Individuals with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Early stages of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are characterized by the loss and narrowing of terminal bronchioles in the lung resulting in 'air-trapping,' often occurring before overt emphysema manifests. Individuals with an airway-predominant phenotype of COPD display extensive lung air-trapping and are at greater cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk than COPD patients with an emphysema-predominant phenotype. We hypothesized that the degree of computed tomography (CT)-quantified lung air-trapping would be associated with greater aortic and carotid artery stiffness and lower endothelial function, known biomarkers of CVD risk. Lung air-trapping was associated with greater aortic stiffness (carotid femoral pulse wave velocity, CFPWV) (r=0.60, p=0.007) and carotid β-stiffness (r=0.75, p=0.0001) among adults with (n=10) and without (n=9) a clinical diagnosis of COPD and remained significant after adjusting for blood pressure (BP) and smoking history (pack-years) (carotid β-stiffness r=0.68, p<0.01...