[Central hemodynamic changes in the early stages of the development of cor pulmonale]

Changes in central hemodynamic parameters in response to acetylcholine aerosol inhalations were evaluated in 60 patients with chronic obstructive bronchitis and 17 normal male subjects. In patients with chronic bronchitis, induced bronchial obstruction was accompanied with increased heart rate and stroke volume as well as circulation shift to a hyperdynamic regimen with a rise in minute volume and systemic arterial blood pressure. There was no direct correlation between the degree of bronchial obstruction and the increment in cardiac output. The increase in cardiac output was however shown to be significantly higher in individuals who responded to acetylcholine inhalation with an at least 20% drop in forced exhalation within 1 second, as compared to less sensitive patients, while the rate of hyperdynamic response was dependent on the severity of pre-inhalation bronchial obstruction.