Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is often associated with cardiovascular disease and the both conditions share common risk factors (smoke), associated pathophysiological mechanisms (pulmonary hyperinflation and vasoconstriction, systemic inflammation and sympathetic activation) and drug use (beta agonists and/or antagonists, steroids, amiodarone). Moreover, COPD is known to be linked to peripheral arterial disease (PAD), mainly represented by aneurysmal dilations. Overall, this chronic immune-inflammatory context might be related to the growth and expansion of malignant clones with specific and well-known biologic traits.
