Pre-clinical prediction of coronary atherosclerosis in copd by carotid artery intima media thickness

Abstract

Aim and Introduction: To determine the association between Coronary atherosclerosis in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and Carotid Artery Intima Media Thickness. The objective of the present case control study is to determine the association between carotid atherosclerosis in COPD patients and cardiovascular morbidity. Material and methods. It was a prospective case-control observational study. 50 COPD patients and 50 age- and gender-matched non-COPD controls were studied. Carotid artery USG scanning was carried out using B-mode duplex USG for measurement of carotid artery intima - media thickness. Results. CIMT was found to be more common in COPD group patients (78%) as compared to non-COPD group patients (26%) (P value = 0.000). The mean CIMT is 1.04 0.41 mm in the COPD group and 0.71 0.24 in the COPD group with a P value of 0.0001. The mean CIMT in Gold 3 was the highest (1.10 0.48 mm), followed by Gold 4 (1.05 0.46 mm) and the minimum in Gold 1 (0.73 0.00 mm). Conclusion. Our study shows that COPD is associated with increased CIMT, which is a preclinical predictor of coronary atherosclerosis and cardiovascular risk. However, further studies are needed.