Carotid artery stiffness is associated with CT-measured lung air-trapping in COPD patients and controls independent of age, blood pressure and smoking history

Background: Early stages of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are characterized by loss of the terminal bronchioles and ‘air trapping’ often before overt emphysema manifests (1). COPD patients are also at risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD), therefore, we hypothesized that the degree of air trapping on computed tomography (CT) (2) would be associated with higher aortic (carotid femoral pulse wave velocity, CFPW V) and carotid artery stiffness (β-stiffness), biomarkers of CVD risk.

Source: Artery Research - November 25, 2016 Category: Cardiology Authors: Gary Pierce, John Newell, Alejandro Comellas, Eric Hoffman, Kelsey Warner, Anna Croghan, Lyndsey DuBose, Peg Nopoulos, Vince Magnotta, Stephan Arndt, Karin Hoth Source Type: research