ACE and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: At baseline, the two groups of patients did not significantly differ in terms of age, sex, BMI, heart rate, blood pressure, complete blood count, plasma lipids, pre-existing diabetes and other comorbid conditions (CKD, COPD and atrial fibrillation), nor in terms of the hospital length of stay and current use of many ‘cardiovascular’ medications (including the use of lipid-lowering drugs, ACE-inhibitors, angiotensin receptor blockers, beta-blockers, furosemide, digitalis, amiodarone, antiplatelet agents or anticoagulants).