Cor Pulmonale Right Sided Heart Failure Causes Dyspnea, Edema Symptoms
Cor pulmonale means failure of the right side of your heart. Most often caused by pulmonary hypertension that leads to right sided bulging which creates heart function problems. So, it’s all about pressure that brings about cor pulmonale
Under healthy conditions, your heart’s left side is under greater pressure than the right because it pumps blood out to your body. While, the right side only pumps blood to your lungs, thus less push back. With pulmonary hypertension, the resistance is abnormally high causing right sided heart failure. In other words, because your right ventricle can’t pump efficiently it causes cor pulmonale.
Common symptoms of cor pulmonale are dyspnea and edema. Some other symptoms you may experience are:
- fatigue
- ascites
- hepatitis
- cyanosis
- wheezing
- weakness
- chest pain
- tachypnea
- arrhythmia
- hemoptysis
- hoarseness
- heart murmur
- chronic coughing
- exercise intolerance
- front chest discomfort
Many of these symptoms might actually be caused by your health condition at the root of the resistance rather than right sided heart failure.
Cor pulmonale is typically a chronic and slow progressing heart problem. As cor pulmonale progresses, it can lead to:
- shock
- severe edema
- life threatening dyspnea
Over half of those with cor pulmonale symptoms have COPD as their preceding health condition. A few of its other foregoing causes, not all of which are related to lung problems, are:
- sleep apnea
- emphysema
- cystic fibrosis
- kyphoscoliosis
- pneumoconiosis
- chronic bronchitis
- heart valve defects
- sickle cell disease
- muscular dystrophy
- post polio syndrome
- pulmonary embolism
- interstitial lung disease
- pulmonary vascular disease
- chronic thromboembolic pulmonary disease
A massive pulmonary embolism or acute ARDS can bring about right sided heart failure very quickly.
Treatment of cor pulmonale focuses on treating your instigating health condition, increasing exercise tolerance, raising up low blood oxygen levels, and relieving dyspnea and edema symptoms. Some of the treatments you might receive include:
- antibiotics for respiratory infection
- low salt diet & fluid restriction for edema
- phlebotomy to reduce red blood cell count
- anticoagulants to reduce the risk of blood clots
- oxygen therapy ~ increases blood oxygen level
- digitalis ~ strengthens heart contractions, slows heart rate & helps eliminate fluid
In severe cases, a lung transplant or heart-lung transplant may be necessary for survival.
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