Screening for Vascular Disease in Pulmonary Rehabilitation

Background: Several of the comorbidities and risk factors associated with COPD and other pulmonary disorders are also similar to those for lower extremity peripheral artery disease (PAD) and cerebrovascular disease. The later condition is often manifested as cognitive impairment, not only from large vessel associated stroke, but also from vascular cognitive impairment (VCI). We hypothesized that pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) would be an appropriate site to discern the prevalence of both PAD and mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Individuals in PR with severe pulmonary disease may have impaired cognition, which could impact learning and treatment adherence while PAD may contribute to functional limitation. Study Design: In this pilot study of 14 patients enrolled in phase II PR, we describe the prevalence