Cardiovascular risk management in COPD patients: impact of the new Dutch guideline.

Whereas in the majority of patients the CVR is already known, for one out of six COPD-patients this CVR still has to be assessed according to the recently updated guideline. Moreover, once a (very)-high risk has been assessed, as a consequence CV treatment of risk factors should be intensified in one out of four COPD-patients. Adherence to the new CVRM guideline could provide improvement in CVRM in more than a third of all COPD-patients.