Cardiovascular risk assessment in patients with COPD: reduce, reuse and recycle

Multimorbidity is a well-documented phenomenon in individuals with COPD, exhibiting a higher prevalence in these patients compared to age- and gender-matched non-COPD individuals [1]. The co-occurrence of multiple morbidities with COPD has been found to exert a deleterious impact on quality of life, exacerbation susceptibility, treatment response and mortality. The complex interaction between these comorbidities and COPD poses a significant challenge for healthcare professionals and researchers in elucidating the individual contributions of each condition to a patient's symptoms, exacerbation aetiology, polypharmacy burden, and mortality risk. Findings from the TORCH, SUMMIT and IMPACT trials have revealed that approximately 27% of COPD patients are at risk of dying from a cardiovascular cause [2], and there is evidence suggesting a persistent heightened risk of cardiovascular events following a COPD exacerbation [3, 4].