Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease as a prognostic factor for patients with coronary heart disease

Introduction: Previous studies have demonstrated that chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) increases mortality in patients with coronary heart disease (CHD). Methods: 1,014 patients with angiographically proven CHD were included in the prospective PHAMOS trial (see ClinicalTrials.gov) during their hospital stay in the departments of internal medicine and the department for cardiothoracic surgery of the Martin Luther-University Halle (Germany). Patients with known COPD or newly diagnosed COPD (n=105) were compared to patients without COPD (n=891). Patients with asthma (n=18) were excluded. Primary endpoin…