14 DAY TRIAL // For the first time ever, a new investigation has tied the common medical condition known as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) to a reduction in the heart's abilities to perform its functions. The research team determined that even mild forms of the pulmonary affliction, which gives little to no symptoms to the patients, could have an adverse effect on the heart's pumping abilities. The work is published in the latest issue of the prestigious scientific publication New England Journal of Medicine.
Experts at the Columbia University Medical Center in New York City, led by Assistant Professor of Medicine and Epidemiology Dr. Graham Barr, MD, PhD, showed that healthcare experts needed to be aware of these correlations when attempting to establish the health status of a patient's heart. The study was funded by the National Institutes of Health's (NIH) National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), and used data collected from the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA) Lung Study.
“These results raise the intriguing possibility that treating lung disease may, in the future, improve heart function. Further research is needed to prove whether treating mild COPD will help the heart work better,” Barr, who has also been the lead author of the journal entry, says. “This study shows that COPD, even in its mildest form, is associated with diminished heart function. We now have evidence that the presence of even mild COPD may have important health implications beyond the lungs,” Susan B. Shurin, MD, the acting director of the NHLBI, adds.
The general public is kept relatively in the dark about the incidence and effects of COPD in the United States and elsewhere, the team adds. The condition is the fourth leading cause of death, and previous investigations have strongly associated it with smoking. It can cause emphysema (the destruction of the lung tissue), narrow airways, lead to persistent cough, as well as trigger the onset of chronic obstructive bronchitis, which is the excessive production of mucus in the lungs.
“COPD is one of the big killers in the United States, yet it is unknown to many. Unfortunately, many people with COPD don't recognize common symptoms such as having shortness of breath while doing activities they used to be able to do. It's important that we continue to increase awareness of the signs of COPD and available treatments,” the Director of the NHLBI Division of Lung Diseases, James P. Kiley, PhD, concludes. The team also found that the correlation between mild COPD and impaired heart function also held true in people who had never smoked a cigarette in their lives.