Pulmonary heart disease

Pulmonary heart disease
Other namesCor pulmonale
Right ventricular hypertrophy
SpecialtyPulmonology
SymptomsCyanosis, wheezing[1]
CausesPrimary pulmonary hypertension[2]
Diagnostic methodEKG, Thrombophilia screen[1]
TreatmentVasodilators, Diuretics[3]

Pulmonary heart disease, also known as cor pulmonale, is the enlargement and failure of the right ventricle of the heart as a response to increased vascular resistance (such as from pulmonic stenosis) or high blood pressure in the lungs.[2]

Chronic pulmonary heart disease usually results in right ventricular hypertrophy (RVH),[4] whereas acute pulmonary heart disease usually results in dilatation.[5] Hypertrophy is an adaptive response to a long-term increase in pressure. Individual muscle cells grow larger (in thickness) and change to drive the increased contractile force required to move the blood against greater resistance. Dilatation is a stretching (in length) of the ventricle in response to acute increased pressure.[6]

To be classified as pulmonary heart disease, the cause must originate in the pulmonary circulation system; RVH due to a systemic defect is not classified as pulmonary heart disease. Two causes are vascular changes as a result of tissue damage (e.g. disease, hypoxic injury), and chronic hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction. If left untreated, then death may result. The heart and lungs are intricately related; whenever the heart is affected by a disease, the lungs risk following and vice versa. [citation needed]

  1. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference patient was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b "Cor pulmonale: MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia". www.nlm.nih.gov. Retrieved 2015-12-21.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference shem was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Voelkel, Norbert F.; Quaife, Robert A.; Leinwand, Leslie A.; Barst, Robyn J.; McGoon, Michael D.; Meldrum, Daniel R.; Dupuis, Jocelyn; Long, Carlin S.; Rubin, Lewis J. (2006-10-24). "Right Ventricular Function and Failure Report of a National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Working Group on Cellular and Molecular Mechanisms of Right Heart Failure". Circulation. 114 (17): 1883–1891. doi:10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.106.632208. ISSN 0009-7322. PMID 17060398.
  5. ^ Matthews, Jennifer Cowger; McLaughlin, Vallerie (2008-02-01). "Acute Right Ventricular Failure in the Setting of Acute Pulmonary Embolism or Chronic Pulmonary Hypertension: A Detailed Review of the Pathophysiology, Diagnosis, and Management". Current Cardiology Reviews. 4 (1): 49–59. doi:10.2174/157340308783565384. ISSN 1573-403X. PMC 2774585. PMID 19924277.
  6. ^ "Types of Cardiomyopathy - NHLBI, NIH". www.nhlbi.nih.gov. Retrieved 2015-12-22.