Cor pulmonale in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Circulatory pathophysiology and management.

The development of pulmonary hypertension and right ventricular failure in COPD patients signals a poor prognosis. In hypoxic patients, long-term oxygen therapy prolongs life and appears to prevent or lessen the progression of pulmonary hypertension. However, oxygen therapy does not benefit and is not indicated for all COPD patients, and even in those patients who improve with oxygen, there remains a need to further improve survival. Therefore, there continues to be active investigations into pharmacologic agents that might reduce pulmonary hypertension or improve right ventricular function. Although many agents appear to have salutary acute effects, it has been more difficult to establish evidence for sustained hemodynamic benefits from chronic drug therapy. Furthermore, some effective agents may not provide additive benefit when combined with standard supplemental oxygen use, although the available data are limited. Clearly, further research is necessary to identify which COPD patients, if any, may benefit from either beta-agonists or vasodilators for the treatment or prevention of cor pulmonale at some time during the natural history of their disease.