Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Aspects of smoking, biomarkers and cardiovascular disease.
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a common and preventable disease characterized by airflow obstruction and emphysema development. COPD often coexist with cardiovascular disease (CVD) and both diseases have common risk factors i.e. age and smoking and shared features i.e. chronic inflammation. Smoking is of particular interest as it substantially increases the risk of developing COPD