Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease anatomical cardiac studies

An abattoir survey on horses diagnosed as suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) on clinical grounds showed that the right ventricular wall thickness was not significantly different from that of normal horses. However, the weight ratio between the left and right ventricles was found to be significantly (P less than 0.001) different in COPD affected, compared with control, horses in a study of 17 physiologically and pathologically confirmed COPD cases, using ventricular weight measurements. No clinical evidence of right heart failure nor post mortem evidence of right heart dilatation was observed in any COPD affected animals. It is suggested that the low incidence and degree of cor pulmonale in equine COPD may be related to the reversibility of the pulmonary hypertension associated with this disease.