Preventing Adverse Cardiac Events in COPD

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is the third leading cause of global health-related morbidity and mortality. Heart disease in COPD is a known but neglected comorbidity and cardiovascular disease (CVD) accounts for 30-50% of deaths in COPD participants. Studies repeatedly show that CVD in COPD participants is under-recognised and under-treated yet participants with COPD are frequently excluded from clinical trials of drugs which reduce cardiac morbidity and mortality. This has led to under-treatment of CVD in COPD participants. A particular concern is low use of β-blockers. These have previously been considered to be contra-indicated in COPD and no RCTs have been conducted in this population. There is now observational evidence that cardioselective β-blockers are safe and may improve mortality, but this data is limited to retrospective analyses of cohorts of COPD participants. Contrary to previous concerns, retrospective analyses also suggest that cardioselective β-blockers may reduce the risk of COPD exacerbations. The proposed study will focus on treating CVD in COPD participants to reduce mortality and morbidity. The study will be conducted in 23 sites in Australia, New Zealand, India and Sri Lanka. Participants with COPD will be randomised to one of two treatment arms in addition to receiving usual care for their COPD over the study duration of 24 months.