Comboridity of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and cardiovascular diseases: general factors, pathophysiological mechanisms and clinical significance

Currently, the comorbidity (combination) of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and cardiovascular diseases (CVD) is an important problem for the health care. This is due to the high prevalence and continuing growth of these pathologies. CVD and COPD have common risk factors and mechanisms underlying their development and progression: smoking, inflammation, sedentary lifestyle, aging, oxidative stress, air pollution, and hypoxia. In this review, we summarize the current knowledge related to the prevalence and frequency of cardiovascular diseases in people with COPD and the mechanisms that underly their coexistence. The implications for clinical practice, in particular the main problems of diagnosis and treatment of COPD/CVD comorbidity, are also discussed.