Importance of early diagnostics of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in patients with coronary heart disease

Aim. To study the specific clinical features in patients with coronary heart disease, CHD (stable effort angina, SEA) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), in order to improve early diagnostics of this combined pathology. Material and methods. The study was a retrospective analysis of 958 medical histories. Co-existing COPD was registered in 251 patients (26,3 %). Therefore, Group I included 251 patients with SEA and COPD (26,3 %), while Group II included 707 SEA patients without COPD (73,7 %). Results. In Group I, there were more men than women, by 5,7 % (ррConclusion. Among chronic CHD patients hospitalized to the cardiology unit, co-existing COPD was registered in 26,3 %. The combination with COPD aggravated the clinical course of CHD. The study results support the use of lung function assessment in smoking CHD patients, to diagnose co-existing COPD.