Echo provide important information in pts with COPD as follows:
Pulmonary pressure, Tricuspoid regurgitation, Right atrial pressure, Inferior vena cava congestion and emptying index, global and distrectual right ventricular function using TAPSE, TEI index, Area fractional shortening, Anulus systolic shortening and most important strain and strain rate of right ventricular walls using speckle tracking.
Presence or absense of cor pulmonale can be made out using echo which tells about the prognosis in copd patients.
In a patient admitted with dyspnea due to COPD , it is essential to exclude LV dysfunction . As smoking is the cause of COPD & can also cause CAD . an urgent echo would help , in deciding whether LV dysfunction is playing a role in the symptom , In addition to the RV changes of Cor Pulmonale of COPD . The addition of diuretics gives immediate relief to cardiac failure in COPD . The message is that in every patient with COPD , LV dysfunction should not be missed .
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