[The changes of right ventricular function in the course of COPD induced cor pulmonale]

A study on pulmonary hemodynamics, radionuclide right ventricular ejection fraction and blood gas analysis in 62 cases of COPD induced cor pulmonale at different stages showed the following results: 1. In early stage of cor pulmonale, stroke volume could not increase after exercise, it proved that cardiac reserve has been reduced; 2. With the progression of the disease, cardiac stroke volume reduced but cardiac output increased gradually, it could be considered as the evolutionary characteristic of cardiac function in chronic cor pulmonale; 3. The right ventricular stroke work was normal and could increase with the rise of after-load, reflecting the relatively effective functional compensation; 4. In acute exacerbation of cor pulmonale, the cardiac failure should be attributed to hyperdynamic type with hypervolemia; 5. Correlation analyses suggested that cardiac output decreased along with the increase of right ventricular afterload only in acute exacerbation of late cor pulmonale; PaO2 and PaCO2 have only slight influence on right ventricular function.