Echocardiographic Right Heart in Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Abstract

Introduction: COPD is one of the most common causes of death and disability worldwide. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is highly prevalent among the Bangladeshi population. We aimed to prospectively study patients diagnosed with COPD using echocardiography to evaluate their right heart function. Methods & Materials: An observational, cross-sectional study was done on 60 patients with COPD who were admitted at Department of Cardiology, M Abdur Rahim Medical College Hospital, Dinajpur, Bangladesh and underwent echocardiographic evaluation from January 2023 to June 2023. All echocardiographic parameters related to the right heart and its function were evaluated. Results: Out of total 60 COPD patients studied, majority of them were female (38 patients, 63.3%). The mean age of the patients studied was 60.9 years, with a standard deviation of 11.4 years. Pulmonary hypertension defined as sPAP>30 mmHg was evident in all of the patients; with 36 patients (60%), 17 (28.3%) and 7 (11.6 %) patients having severe, moderate and mild pulmonary hypertension respectively. RV dysfunction was evident with reduced average TAPSE values (1.59± 0.38 cm) and elevated RIMP values (0.58±0.16). Conclusion: The majority of patients with COPD showed signs of pulmonary hypertension. Echocardiogram can be a helpful tool to assess early changes on the right heart size and function in patients with COPD and also monitor these patients for rapid progression of the illness.