Covers chronic cor pulmonale as right ventricular hypertrophy and failure driven by pulmonary hypertension from lung, vascular, chest wall or breathing-control disease, with the ESC/ERS 2022 haemodynamic definitions and clinical classification of pulmonary hypertension in tables. It then moves through aetiology, pathogenesis, symptoms and signs, ECG, chest X-ray and echocardiography criteria, differential diagnosis, and treatment including oxygen indications, diuretic and drug choices, and complications and prognosis. A chest X-ray and a diagram of right ventricular hypertrophy are included.
Topic 37 of 139 in the MU Sofia syllabus for Internal Diseases and Therapy (Medicine, Years 4 and 5). The free AceMed note covers it in 10 sections, about 1,274 words (11 min of reading), with 14 flashcards.
Chronic cor pulmonale is hypertrophy and/or dilatation of the right ventricle (RV), ending in right heart failure, caused by pulmonary hypertension (PH) from disease of the lungs, the pulmonary vessels, the chest wall or the control of breathing — not from left heart disease or congenital heart disease.
Acute cor pulmonale: sudden RV dilatation from acute pressure overload, mostly massive pulmonary embolism (PE) or acute respiratory distress syndrome.
The chronic form develops over months to years; the most common cause is chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), followed by interstitial lung disease (ILD).
