New Long-Acting Bronchodilator Use and Risk for CVD in COPD Patients

Long-acting bronchodilators (long-acting β-agonists [LABAs] and long-acting muscarinic antagonists [LAMAs]) are the mainstay of therapy for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD); however, these agents might be associated with adverse cardiovascular (CV) outcomes through overactivation of the sympathetic nervous system. Although long-term outcomes with these agents have been reassuring, researchers have not examined adverse events associated with initiation of therapy in LABA- and LAMA-naive patients.

In a nested case-control study from Taiwan, about 284,000 COPD patients who were LABA- and LAMA-naive at baseline were followed for an average of 2 years. During the study period, nearly 38,000 patients were admitted to hosp…