LATE-BREAKING ABSTRACT: Cardiovascular and skeletal muscle manifestations in COPD: The ERICA study

Rationale Elevated cardiovascular risk (CV) and skeletal muscle dysfunction (SM) are two of the most important extra-pulmonary manifestations in COPD. Our aim was to determine whether aortic pulse wave velocity (aPWV) and skeletal muscle weakness, as measures of CV and SM respectively, are linked in COPD.Methods 729 GOLD II–IV COPD subjects underwent multiple phenotypic assessments. We defined elevated aPWV as u003e10m/s (Reference Values for Arterial Stiffness 2010) and quadriceps weakness by a gender-specific equation for quadriceps maximal volitional contraction (QMVC) (Seymour et al 2010).Results CV and SM were present in 46.3% and 43.6% of our cohort respectively. 21.4% of subjects exhibited both CV and SM, similar to the overlap predicted by chance alone (20.2%). Presence of SM was associated with more adverse measures. Conclusions CV and SM are prevalent and distinct manifestations in COPD. The presence of SM is associated with worse functional and patient reported outcomes than presence of CV alone.