Cui H et al. Cardiovascular diseases in COPD patients. In female COPD patients, the prevalence of heart failure and hypertension was higher than in male COPD patients (P < 0.05). The prevalence of ischemic heart disease and angina in male COPD patients was higher than in female (P < 0.05). There were no significant differences between male and female patients with respect to acute myocardial infarction and arrhythmia (Table 4). Table 3. The distribution of sociological indicators of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients. Project Professional Cadres Workers Farmers Soldiers Unemployed Other Unknown Marital status Single Married now Widowed Other Social security Public health care Own expense Serious co-ordination Social basic medical insurance Commercial insurance Other Areas Beijing City The county district of Beijing n (%) 1048 (21.1) 332 (6.7) 138 (2.8) 832 (16.8) 178 (3.6) 1560 (31.5) 872 (17.6) 52 (1.0) 4417 (89.1) 25 (0.5) 466 (9.4) 342 (6.9) 37 (0.7) 252 (5.1) 2454 (49.5) 558 (11.3) 1317 (26.6) 4798 (96.7) 162 (3.3) Figure 1. Prevalence of CVD in COPD patients according to age and sex. 1: ischemic heart disease; 2: angina; 3: acute myocardial infarction; 4: arrhythmia; 5: heart failure; 6: hypertension. CVD: cardiovascular disease; COPD: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. http://www.jgc301.com; jgc@mail.sciencep.com | Journal of Geriatric Cardiology 7 Table 4. Prevalence of CVD in COPD patients according to sex. Complications Male, n(%) Female, n(%) Total, n(%) P Ischemic heart disease 1096 (30.7) 341 (24.5)* 1433 (28.9) < 0.001 Angina 457 (12.8) 93 (6.7)* 550 (11.1) < 0.001 iAncfaurtcetimonyocardial 57 (1.6) 33 (2.4) 89 (1.8) 0.075 Arrhythmia 457 (12.8) 168 (12.1) 625 (12.6) 0.505 Heart failure 657 (18.4) 313 (22.5)* 972 (19.6) 0.001 Hypertension 1346 (37.7) 650 (46.8)* 1999 (40.3) < 0.001 *P < 0.05, female patients compared with male patients with COPD in prevalence of CVD. CVD: cardiovascular disease; COPD: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. 3.5 Major trends of CVD in COPD patients (Table 5 and 6, Figure 2). From 2000, the prevalence of heart failure in COPD patients ranged from 16.7% to 23.9%. From 2003 to 2004, it rose to 23.9%. From 2005, the prevalence gradually decreased. The prevalence of arrhythmia was 9.8% before 2003, but rose to 15.8% in 2004. From 2004 onwards, the prevalence decreased gradually. The prevalence of ischemic heart disease in COPD patients had a clear decreasing tendency from before 2003 to 2003~2004, declining from 43.9% to 27.6%. From 2004 onwards, the prevalence of ischemic heart disease in COPD patients was maintained at 22.4%~24.6%. COPD patients with heart failure, ischemic heart disease and arrhythmia tended to be younger and younger as the study progressed. The prevalence of all major types of CVD in COPD declined in the males, but increased in the female counterparts. The prevalence of heart failure in male COPD patients declined, but increased in the females year on year. A similar trend was seen for arrhythmia. A break in this trend was seen for the period 2007 to 2008, where the prevalence in males increased while that of females decreased, but the original trend resumed after 2009. For ischemic heart disease, the prevalence in males decreased and that for females increased, and this trend was more prominent than for the other types of CVD. Table 5. Age characteristics of COPD patients with CVD complications from 2000 to 2010. Heart failure Arrhythmia Ischemic heart disease Time Prevalence Age (yr) Prevalence Prev(%ale)nce Age (yr) Age (yr) (%) (%) < 2003 17.6 72.8 ± 10.9 9.8 75.1 ± 8.2 43.9 74.9 ± 8.6 2003.1~ 23.9* 74.6 ± 8.6 15.8* 75.4 ± 8.6 27.6* 74.6 ± 8.9 2004.12 2005.1~ 20.6 73.9 ± 8.5 13.6* 74.9 ± 8.1 24.6* 74.7 ± 8.5 2006.12 2007.1~ 16.7 74.8 ± 9.1 11.8 74.7 ± 9.1 22.8* 73.9 ± 8.6 2008.12 2009.1~ 19.1 73.7 ± 8.4 12.3 73.4 ± 9.8 22.4* 73.3 ± 8.8 2010.3 *P < 0.05, annual differences compared with 2003. Data are presented as mean ± SE. CVD: cardiovascular disease; COPD: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.