[Structural and electrical characteristics of myocardial remodeling in pulmonary diseases with obstructive and...

Myocardial changes were studied in 239 patients with different diseases of the lungs associated with obstructive (84 patients) and restrictive (155 patients) ventilation disorders and in 109 healthy subjects (control group). Structural and electrical indices of the myocardium taken at echo- and vectorcardiography in patients with chronic pulmonary diseases differed from those of healthy subjects, depended on the type and severity of the ventilation disorders. Remodeling of the myocardium in obstructive ventilation disorders is accompanied by a moderate staged enlargement of atrial cavities, right ventricle, thickening of the walls of both ventricles in enhanced electric activity of all the heart compartment. The restrictive ventilation disorders are characterized by an early significant enlargement of both atria's cavities, and of both ventricles with maximal thickening of ventricular walls. Electric activity of the heart rose maximally at the initial stage, later it lowered. Variants of myocardial remodeling in abnormal external respiration were determined by differences in compensatory heart reactions. In the obstructive type, heart remodeling had better compensatory opportunities which manifested itself at all the stages of the ventilatory disorders. In the restrictive type, effective compensatory hyperfunction of the heart was seen only at the first stage of ventilatory disorders, at later stages it weakened.