ABSTRACT
Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) present to a physician in their 50s and 60s and may live for another 20-30 years. During this long period while the disease progresses inexorably, the clinician’s focus is naturally on the patient’s lungs. However, it has become clear in recent years that many systems other than the respiratory system may be involved by COPD. To this extent, COPD can be regarded as a systemic disorder.
