Cardiovascular disease in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a narrative review.

Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are at increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and concomitant disease leads to reduced quality of life, increased hospitalisations and worse survival. Acute pulmonary exacerbations are an important contributor to COPD burden and are associated with increased cardiovascular (CV) events. Both COPD and CVD represent a significant global disease impact and understanding the relationship between the two could potentially reduce this burden.