Asthma with chronic lung disease linked to cardiovascular deaths
Adults with overlapping conditions had a cardiovascular death hazard ratio of 2.49—a measure of relative risk—compared with those with neither condition.
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Editor of record: Boris Djordjevic · AgingResearch.News
US adults—28,042 participants in national health surveys from 1999–2018—were followed through death records ending in 2019 in an observational cohort study. Researchers recorded 1,341 cardiovascular deaths. They defined overlapping lung disease as self-reported asthma plus chronic bronchitis or emphysema.
The association with cardiovascular death persisted after adjustment for smoking and other health factors, and after accounting for respiratory deaths. It also appeared among never-smokers, with a hazard ratio of 2.89. The results did not show significantly higher cardiovascular mortality than for chronic bronchitis or emphysema alone. Asthma alone was not linked to a statistically significant increase. Excluding the first two years of follow-up did not remove the association.
Why it matters
The authors called for proactive cardiovascular assessment regardless of smoking history, addressing a threat to lifespan in people with overlapping lung conditions.
Caveats
Lung conditions were self-reported, and differences in underlying health could still have contributed to the mortality link despite statistical adjustment. The findings were reported in a conference abstract.
The paper
Oakland Univ William Beaumont Sch of Medicine; Aultman Deuble Heart & Vascular Hosp Cardiovascular Consultants
AHA Scientific Sessions 2026 Abstract, Nov 2, 2026
Presented at AHA Scientific Sessions 2026, abstract 17315
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