What Is Cor Pulmonale?
Article Sources
- 1. Biswas, Abhishek. Preventing the development of acute cor pulmonale in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome: the first step. Annals of Translational Medicine vol. 4, 7 (2016). doi: 10.21037/atm.2016.03.18
- 2. Howlett, Jonathan G. Cor Pulmonale. Merck Manuals Professional Edition (2020). https://www.merckmanuals.com/professional/cardiovascular-disorders/heart-failure/cor-pulmonale
- 3. Leong, Derek et al. Cor Pulmonale. MedScape (2019). https://emedicine.medscape.com/article/154062-overview
4. Diagnosis
When doctors suspect that cor pulmonale is responsible for signs observed in a physical examination, they will use either echocardiography or radionuclide imaging to generate a picture of the heart. Many will also perform catheterization of the right side of the heart to measure the size of the chambers.2Howlett, Jonathan G. Cor Pulmonale. Merck Manuals Professional Edition (2020). https://www.merckmanuals.com/professional/cardiovascular-disorders/heart-failure/cor-pulmonale
Once doctors determine that the right ventricle is enlarged, the next step is to determine the underlying cause. Non-invasive pulmonary function tests give an overall picture of how well the lungs perform. If a specific lung disease is not obvious, patients may undergo ventilation/perfusion scanning or chest computed tomography scanning.2Howlett, Jonathan G. Cor Pulmonale. Merck Manuals Professional Edition (2020). https://www.merckmanuals.com/professional/cardiovascular-disorders/heart-failure/cor-pulmonale
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