Efficacy of Combination Therapy in Patients with Stable Coronary Heart Disease with Comorbid Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Abstract

The objective: to analyze the quality of life (QoL) and functional status after combination therapy in patients with stable coronary heart disease (CHD) and comorbid chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Materials and methods. The study included 60 men with stable CHD in combination with COPD. The patients were divided into two groups of 30 people, comparable according to the main indicators. Study group (1) received basic treatment with nebivolol, valsartan, eplerenone, acetylsalicylic acid, rosuvastatin for CHD and basic COPD treatment with combination of umeclidinium bromide (a long-acting cholinolytic) and vilanterol (a long-acting beta2-agonist). Patients from Group 2 in addition tj the basic treatment received L-arginine in the form of an infusion of 4.2% 100 ml solution for 10 days, followed by oral administration at a dose of 3 g per day. The duration of treatment was 6 months. Quality of life was evaluated by validated standardized non-specific questionnaire «The 36-Item Short Form Health Survey» (SF-36), a validated specific respiratory questionnaire of St. George’s Hospital – St. George’s Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ). The functional state of patients before and after treatment was evaluated by cardiorespiratory test, which included the distance 6-minutes walk test (6MWT) according to the standard method in combination with pulse oximetry (SpO2), calculation of desaturation level (ΔSpO2), recording of electrocardiogram and blood pressure before and after exercise. Results. After the treatment, patients in both groups noted a significant improvement in quality of life across all domains of the SF-36 questionnaire, which includes 36 questions with physical and mental components. Patients from group 2 demonstrated better results of treatment in all indicators of physical functioning, general health and vital activity than patients from group 1. The results of the quality of life evaluation according to the specific respiratory questionnaire SGRQ also showed a significant improvement in patients of both groups. In both groups, the distance of 6MWT significantly increased, the heart rate at rest and after exercise decreased, and the level of desaturation decreased. In group 2, the increase in the distance of 6MWT, the decrease of desaturation level was significantly better than in group 1. Conclusions. Rational combination treatment of patients with stable coronary heart disease (CHD) with comorbid chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) includes nebivolol, valsartan, eplerenone, acetylsalicylic acid, rosuvastatin and a combination of vilanterol and umeclidinium bromide, contributes to improving the quality of life of patients and their functional status. Addition of L-arginine to the basic combination treatment of patients with CHD and COPD increases the efficacy of therapy and improves cardiohemodynamics. Addition of L-arginine to the treatment complex contributed to the additional improvement of the physical and mental patterns of quality of life and indicators of cardiorespiratory test.