Assessment of arterial stiffness in stable patients of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a prospective case control study

Background: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide and represents a substantial socioeconomic burden. Co-morbidities are more in COPD patients. Cardiovascular disease is one of the co-morbid conditions in COPD. Arterial stiffness has a strong predictive value for cardiovascular events, which can be assessed non-invasively. Various predictors of arterial stiffness between stable COPD patients and healthy volunteers were measured and compared.Methods: COPD patients attending pulmonary medicine outpatient services were screened for enrolment. It was a prospective case control study with enrolment of fifty COPD stable cases and fifty healthy control, who were matched for their age and sex. All eligible participants were subjected to focused history and physical examination as per structured questionnaire, followed by spirometric examination, periscope test, arterial blood gas analysis and six- minute walk test (6MWT).Results: Increased arterial stiffness was observed in COPD patients over a wide range of severity of airway obstruction. Distance walked in 6MWT and spirometric values were significantly lower in COPD group as compared to healthy group.Conclusions: It was concluded that vascular changes, which are predictive of cardiovascular disease remain as cardiovascular risks in mild or early lung disease. A strong relationship between COPD, systemic inflammation, arterial stiffness and cardiovascular disease had been found which needs to be explored further. It was finally concluded that targeted therapeutic approach has broad aspect in reducing cardiovascular risks and has potential for improved prognosis in COPD.