Abstract
While both chronic congestive heart failure (CHF) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) impose a substantial disease burden and share etiologic and epidemiologic associations, they largely have been studied separately. We aim to assess the prevalence and the prognostic implications of the coexistence of left ventricular dysfunction in COPD patients and airway obstruction in CHF patients.
We used a prospective cohort study including stable ≥60-year-old patients with echocardiographic-confirmed CHF (n=201) and stable ≥60-year-old patients with clinical and spirometry-confirmed COPD (n=218). All CHF patients underwent routine spirometry, and all COPD patients underwent routine echocardiographic assessment and B-type natriuretic peptide measurement. Patients were followed for 2 years.
The prevalence of airway obstruction among CHF patients was 37.3%. The prevalence of ventricular dysfunction among COPD patients was 17%. The presence of ventricular dysfunction in patients with COPD tended to increased the risk of mortality during follow-up (HR=2.34, 95% CI 0.99–5.54, p=0.053). The presence of airway obstruction in patients with CHF did not influence survival.
CHF and COPD frequently coexist. Ventricular dysfunction worsens survival in patients with COPD. Considering the high prevalence and the prognostic implications of ventricular dysfunction, routine assessment with either BNP or echocardiogram should be considered in COPD patients
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