To explore the influence factors and electrocardiographic characteristics of the patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in combination with cardiovascular diseases (CVD).

The data of 124 hospitalized patients with acute COPD were retrospectively analyzed in this study. According to whether they had cardiovascular disease, the patients were divided into two groups: the COPD group without cardiovascular disease (the control group, n=24) and the COPD group with cardiovascular disease (CVD, n=100). Meanwhile, the patients combined with cardiovascular disease were divided into three subgroups: the coronary heart disease group (n=33), the pulmonary heart disease group (n=36) and the arrhythmia group (n=31). The influence factors and electrocardiogram abnormalities were analyzed in each group.

There was no statistical significant difference in the sex ratio, age, course of disease, or smoking history between the control group and the CVD group (P>0.05), but the smoking time and the disease course of COPD in the CVD group were significantly higher than those of the control group (n<0.05). Analysis of risk factors found that the incidences of infection, hyperlipidemia, hyperglycemia and smoking time in the patients with COPD combined with CVD were significantly higher than those of the control group (n<0.05). The ECG analysis indicated that 57 out of 100 patients (57.00%) with COPD combined with CVD had abnormal ECGs. The incidences of atrial premature beats were respectively 27.27%, 30.55%, and 45.16%, the incidences of right bundle branch block were respectively 21.21%, 23.15%, and 29.03%, the incidences of limb lead low voltage were respectively 18.18%, 19.44%, and 19.35%, the incidences of right axis deviation were respectively 9.09%, 30.55%, and 45.16%, the incidences of pulmonary P wave were respectively 3.03%, 16.66%, and 3.22%, and the incidences of clockwise transposition were respectively 0, 5.62%, and 6.44% in the patients with COPD combined with coronary heart disease, pulmonary heart disease and arrhythmia. Furthermore, ECG abnormalities in the COPD patients combined with CVD were higher than those in the control group, especially in the groups with pulmonary heart disease and arrhythmia (n<0.05).

The incidence of CVD is high in the COPD patients, which is closely related with the smoking time, infection, hyperlipidemia and hyperglycemia. Therefore, abnormal ECG may provide references for the prevention and diagnosis of CVD in the COPD patients.