Respiratory and Cardiovascular Alterations in Patients With Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a major cause of disability and death worldwide. People with COPD often have cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) that are associated with increased risk for hospitalization and prolonged stay as well as all-cause and CVD-related mortality. Nevertheless, CVDs in patients with COPD are tend to be underestimated in clinical practice. Mechanisms that define the relation between COPD and cardiovascular morbidity include lung hyperinflation, hypoxia, pulmonary hypertension, systemic inflammation and oxidative stress, exacerbation, shared risk factors and COPD phenotypes. Recently, some authors have announced that COPD treatment with dual bronchodilation may not only improve pulmonary function and quality of life, but also have a positive effect on cardiac function in cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or two-dimensional cardiac ultrasound for the assessments. The aim of this study is to specify the state of respiratory and cardiovascular systems as well as exercise capacity and quality of life in patients with newly diagnosed moderate-to-severe COPD and to evaluate their changes after short-term treatment with dual bronchodilation. We hypothesize that patients with newly diagnosed COPD and no previous records of cardiac diseases and no apparent signs of heart failure have significantly impaired cardiac autonomic integrity that precedes to increased risk of cardiovascular events. It is believed that cardiac autonomic integrity might significantly improve with dual bronchodilation therapy.