Elucidating the risk of cardiopulmonary consequences of an exacerbation of COPD: results of the EXACOS-CV study in Germany.

The risk of a CV event or death increased in time periods following both moderate and severe exacerbations of COPD, emphasising the need to promptly manage the risk of CV events following the onset of an exacerbation, to prevent exacerbations of any severity, and more generally, to address the cardiopulmonary risk in patients with COPD.