Cardiovascular Disease in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Smoking is a major cause of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and cardiovascular disorders, including coronary heart disease (CHD) and peripheral arterial disease. Smoking-induced inflammation and other risk factors like dyslipidemia cause vascular endothelial damage via oxidative stress, and a vicious cycle with the characteristics of atherosclerosis ensues. Inflammatory cytokines stimulate hepatic acute-phase protein production, and C-reactive protein is now used widely to assess inflammation in the arterial wall. Smoking is associated with many alterations in lipids and lipoproteins, and is also prothrombotic. Global risk assessment, which determines the absolute risk for developing CHD in 10 years, is used widely to determine who should receive lipid-lowering therapy. Major CHD risk factors include age, sex, smoking, blood pressure, lipoproteins, and cholesterol, but COPD is not among them. Future studies should determine the absolute risk for developing CHD in patients with COPD. The 3-hyd...