Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a preventable and treatable chronic lung ailment characterized by pulmonary or/and systemic effects that usually not fully reversible upon treatments. COPD induced cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) as systemic effects are reflected in impairments of cardiovascular parameters (CVP) that are diagnosed by different invasive and non invasive methods. The non-invasive methods were used in measuring patient’s blood pressure (BP), heart rate (HR), and oxygen saturation (SPO2) as indicators of CVPs. This study aims to estimate the status of CVP among COPD patients. A hospital based cross-sectional study was conducted among COPD patients visiting chest clinic of Jimma University Medical Center located at Jimma town, South west Ethiopia, from May to August 2017, measuring the indirect indicators of CVP in pre and post Six Minute Walk Distance Test (6MWDT). Data were entered into EPI data (3.1) and exported to SPSS (20) for further analysis. The mean post-bronchodilator FEV1% predicted was 42.5±15.6, and the severity of COPD was stratified as stage I (2.5%), stage II (26.25%), stage III (33.75%) and stage IV (37.5%). The mean of SBP, DBP, HR and SPO2 were 113.26±13.67 versus 122.63±13.52, 73.05±9.21 versus 81.63±9.70, 78.16±13.71 versus 88.51±14.34 and 91.18±1.68 versus 88.11±1.15 in pre and post exercise capacity test respectively. This difference of cardiovascular parameters (CVPs) was observed due to possible effects of systemic inflammation.

Keywords: Cardiovascular parameters, COPD, six minute walk distance test, patients.