Paul Man has advanced the concept that a common lung condition, chronic obstructive lung disease (COPD; chronic bronchitis and emphysema) is much more than a lung disease. He and his colleagues have demonstrated the inflammatory process in COPD can have serious effects on many of the organs in the human body. They have shown that COPD is a definite although poorly recognized risk factor for coronary artery disease. Importantly, they have also identified biological molecules in subjects with lung disease that can be used to predict the risk for coronary artery disease.