Assessment of Left Ventricular Diastolic Function Morbidity in Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease in Population of West Bengal

Introduction: Right ventricular dysfunction is a well known complication or association of Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Only recently the association of Left ventricular dysfunction with COPD has gained importance. Whether this is an independent co-morbidity or a consequence of the COPD is yet to be clearly ascertained but more and more studies are showing Left ventricular dysfunction to be present in patients with COPD.

Materials and Methods: We conducted a pilot study in our institutes with 50 patients in our institution. This was an observational Cross sectional study where patients were diagnosed and classified according to GOLD criteria.

Results: We found Left Ventricle (LV) dysfunction in about 84% of these patients. Systolic and diastolic dysfunctions were present in 2% cases. Patient’s presenting age, duration and stage of the disease has significant positive correlation with left ventricular diastolic dysfunction.

Conclusion: Treatment of this Left ventricular dysfunction was absolutely necessary in the holistic treatment of the patient as left ventricular dysfunction has an independent detrimental effect in COPD patients. As such, we recommend that all COPD patients should have an Echocardiography on first presentation.