Pulmonary and cardiac hemodynamics in COPD and cystic fibrosis by Doppler echocardiography

Abstract

Aim: to assess the functionality of the right heart in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), mixed cystic fibrosis (CF), and cystic fibrosis lung disease by Doppler echocardiography. Patients and Methods: 30 adults with CF and 82 adults with COPD underwent ultrasonography to evaluate pulmonary and cardiac hemodynamics. All patients were divided into four groups based on the presence/absence of clinical signs of right ventricular failure and pulmonary hypertension. Results: in COPD, diastolic dysfunction of the right heart can be subclinical preceding systolic impairment. Right ventricular hypertrophy and failure in CF occur in relatively low pulmonary artery pressure. Thus, in systolic pulmonary pressure less than 40–50 mm Hg, hypertrophy and dilation were concomitant. As the diastolic function of the right ventricle worsens, right atrial contractility increases while the ratio of left ventricular filling velocities during the early atrial diastole and systole reduces in patients with CF. Conclusion: in severe COPD, significant structural and functional impairments of the right ventricle occur. Compensatory potentialities of the right and left ventricles exhaust, thereby providing the conditions for the progression of heart failure and the development of the chronic pulmonary heart. In CF, diastolic dysfunction of the right heart often precedes systolic dysfunction, as illustrated by changes in the proportion of various filling phases of the right ventricle. In right ventricular diastolic dysfunction, an increase in right atrial contractility occurs that reduces only in severe decompensation of the chronic pulmonary heart. KEYWORDS: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, cystic fibrosis, echocardiography, Doppler cardiography, pulmonary hypertension, right ventricular failure, diastolic function. FOR CITATION: Titova O.N., Kuzubova N.A., Aleksandrov A.L. et al. Pulmonary and cardiac hemodynamics in COPD and cystic fibrosis by Doppler echocardiography. Russian Medical Inquiry. 2021;5(7):456–461 (in Russ.). DOI: 10.32364/2587-6821-2021-5-7-456-461.