Toshiki Kuno, Keiichi Fukuda, et al
Chronic lung disease (CLD), including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), chronic bronchitis, and emphysema, is a common comorbidity in coronary artery disease patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). CLD and coronary artery disease share a common and significant risk factor: tobacco smoking. COPD is known to increase the risk of cardiovascular disease two- to threefold1,2. Systemic inflammation is present in patients with moderate-to-severe airflow obstruction and is associated with an increased risk of cardiac injury3. The World Health Organization stated that COPD is the fourth leading cause of mortality worldwide, and it could become the third leading cause by 2030.
The prevalence of CLD is lower in East Asian countries. Previous studies from Japan showed that CLD was present in only 2.4% of ischaemic heart disease patients4, which is comparatively low compared to Western studies (ranging from 6.0% to 13.9%)5,6. However, the prevalence of COPD continues to increase in Japan and in many Asian countries7 due to increases in cigarette smoking, air pollution, and the ageing population. In Japan, CLD is currently the ninth cause of mortality but is not widely recognised as an important comorbidity in patients with ischaemic heart disease8.
However, the prognostic impact of CLD in acute coronary syndrome (ACS) has not been thoroughly investigated. Therefore, we aimed to clarify the effects of CLD on in-hospital mortality, post-procedural complications, and discharge medications in ACS patients undergoing PCI in a multicentre registry.