Relationship Between Phenotypical and Echocardiographic Findings With Pulmonary Hypertension in COPD Patients

Pulmonary hypertension in COPD patients and identifying accompanying factors in clinical decisions are very important. The current study aimed to determine the relationship between phenotypic and echocardiographic findings with the help of pulmonary artery pressure in patients with COPD. In this study, 100 COPD patients referred to a specialized clinic participated in the study. The prevalence of pulmonary hypertension (PH) and its relationship with phenotypic criteria, spirometry, laboratory findings, and echocardiography in COPD patients were investigated. Among the COPD patients, 76 cases were classified as having chronic bronchitis, nine as having emphysema, and 15 were classified as mixed phenotype by Chest high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) methods. The prevalence of PH in the study was 36% (moderate 24% and severe 12%). The average pulmonary arterial pressure (PAP) was significantly difference in different phenotypes (p < 0.001). Heart rate and PAP significantly increase in mixed phenotypes p = 0.029 and p = 0.002, respectively. Also, the modified Medical Research Council scale (mMRC) and BODE index were significantly increase in mixed phenotypes of COPD patients (p < 0.05 to p < 0.001). Compared the factors related to PH in different phenotypes of patients with COPD indicated that PH are related with heart rate, PCO2, creatinine, triglycerides, 6MWT and BODE Index.