Echocardiographic evaluation of left ventricular diastolic function in chronic cor pulmonale

The worsening of dyspnea In patients with chronic I cor pulmonale secondary to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is usually attributed to the dete rioration of pulmonary disease, and the role of the left ventricle is usual ly neglected, However, the right and left ventricles cannot be considered i ndependently of one another, and there is evidence of interaction between t hem.(1-6) Previous studies have shown that patients with right ventricular (RV) pressure or volume overload often have impaired left ventricular (LV) diastolic function that has been related to the geometric distortion of the left ventricle.(3-5,7-11) The effects of chronic RV pressure overload on L V diastolic function usually were studied in patients with primary pulmonar y hypertension.(7-9,12) The aim of this study was to show the abnormalities of LV diastolic function present in a group of patients with chronic cor p ulmonale secondary to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and to compare these with age-matched healthy volunteers by using echocardiography.