@article {ZeltPA5026, author = {Joel Zelt and Trevor King and Daniel Hirai and Joshua Jones and Ingrid Rafferty and Luiza Castanhas and Kyra Pyke and Denis O{\textquoteright}Donnell and J. Alberto Neder}, title = {Do COPD patients with only mild-to-moderate airflow obstruction present with endothelial dysfunction?}, volume = {48}, number = {suppl 60}, elocation-id = {PA5026}, year = {2016}, doi = {10.1183/13993003.congress-2016.PA5026}, publisher = {European Respiratory Society}, abstract = {Background: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is associated with an elevated risk of cardiovascular disease, a finding that might be mechanistically linked to systemic endothelial dysfunction. In fact, coexistent cardiovascular disease is a major cause of disability and death in COPD patients with only mild-to-moderate airflow obstruction. It remains unknown, however, whether these patients may present with systemic endothelial dysfunction.Methods: We measured flow mediated dilation (FMD) of the brachial artery (BA) in 10 COPD patients (7 with FEV1 \> 80\% predicted, 6 females) and 13 age- and gender-matched sedentary controls.Results: COPD patients had lower FMD compared to controls (4.0{\textpm}2.9\% vs 5.2{\textpm}2.6\%, P=0.11) which was further amplified when normalized for reactive hyperemia induced shear rate (SR=BA blood velocity/BA diameter) (0.0008{\textpm}0.0003\%/SR vs 0.00155{\textpm}0.008\%/SR, P=0.029). The time to peak FMD diameter was significantly delayed in COPD patients compared to controls (71{\textpm}23s vs 44{\textpm}8s, P=0.01).These abnormalities, however, were not associated with severity of airflow obstruction (P\>0.05).Conclusion: Impairments in systemic endothelial function precede large reductions in FEV1 in patients with COPD. These findings might hold clinical implications for cardiovascular risk stratification and early treatment in this patient population.}, issn = {0903-1936}, URL = {https://erj.ersjournals.com/content/48/suppl_60/PA5026}, eprint = {https://erj.ersjournals.com/content}, journal = {European Respiratory Journal} }