ESAM and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: This phenomenon was consistent with relevant clinical studies; elevated circulating inflammatory markers (such as CRP, IL‐6, IL‐8, IFN‐γ, TNF‐α, fibrinogen, and white blood cell count) in patients with COPD directly stimulate various early atherosclerotic processes, including increased endothelial cell adhesion molecules (ICAM‐1 and VCAM‐1; Pasceri et al., 2000) and increased uptake of LDL by macrophages (Zwaka et al., 2001).