In patients with COPD, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, the risk of cardiovascular events increases approximately 34-fold in the 7 days following an exacerbation, regardless of severity. This risk remains high up to one year of observation. It is the result of the Rwe Exacos-Cv study (EXACerbations and their OutcomeS – CardioVascular an observational cohort study using Italy Healthcare Claims Database), published in the ‘European Journal of Internal Medicine’. The study – conducted on 216,864 patients with COPD in Italy – shows how, in the year following an exacerbation, regardless of its severity, the risk of cardiac events with potentially very serious consequences increases if not appropriately treated.
“COPD – explains Paola Rogliani, professor of Respiratory System Diseases, University of Rome Tor Vergata, director of the Uoc Respiratory System Diseases, Fondazione Policlinico Tor Vergata and co-author of the study – affects 391 million people in the world and approximately 3, 3 million in Italy, whose data are probably underestimated. The World Health Organization estimates that COPD is the third cause of death in the world. Cardiopulmonary risk, i.e. the risk of exacerbations and cardiovascular events, represents an aspect to consider both in the diagnostic phase and in the acute phase. The exacerbations – he underlines – result in the decline of lung function and this study demonstrates how the cardiovascular consequences can be detected up to a year after the exacerbation itself. The results of the Exacos-Cv study they are of great value because they confirm how the cardiovascular risk of a patient with COPD is significantly increased following an exacerbation, even if moderate, underlining the importance of adequate intervention and optimization of treatment with a view to reducing cardiopulmonary risk and prevent exacerbations in patients with COPD”.
The results of the Exacos-Cv study “are of great relevance and show the clear correlation between COPD and the onset of cardiovascular events, which can be potentially fatal for patients – observes Francesco Dentali, president of Fadoi (Federation of associations of internal medicine hospital managers ), professor in Internal Medicine University of Insubria, director of the Department of Medical Area of the Asst Sette Laghi di Varese hospital and co-author of the study – The data that emerged are also very important from the point of view of internal medicine, as they underline how the The risk of cardiovascular events after hospitalization for COPD increases by as much as 86 times. It follows that it is of fundamental importance to act promptly, preventing hospitalizations through adequate and timely management and care of the patient, with a view to improving the quality of their care. life”.
At the recent ATS (American Thoracic Society) Congress, AstraZeneca, a leading company in scientific research for respiratory diseases – we read in a note – presented numerous innovative studies. Among these, a post-hoc analysis of the phase 3 Ethos study, which analyzed the effectiveness of the triple therapy with budesonide/glycopyrronium/formoterol fumarate in reducing the risk of exacerbation in patients with moderate to severe COPD, compared to the dual therapy. The results showed that triple therapy reduced the risk of cardiopulmonary events by 20%.
“We are proud to announce the publication in the European Journal of Internal Medicine of the Italian results of the Exacos-Cv study – comments Raffaela Fede, medical director of AstraZeneca Italia – for which Italy provided an extremely important contribution and which allowed us to collect very relevant data from clinical practice and above all relating to the Italian context of patients with COPD, it is clear how important it is to intervene in a preventive manner and optimize treatment for patients with COPD of AstraZeneca Italia in research in this area, we will participate in the international Tharros clinical study which, for the first time in the history of COPD, aims to demonstrate the effectiveness of the triple therapy budesonide/glycopyrronium/formoterol fumarate in reducing cardiopulmonary events for patients with COPD and which, we trust, can also resolve this clinical need which is not yet satisfied”.
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