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Chronic pulmonary heart is a group of symptoms manifested secondary in the circulatory system, especially in the heart, as a result of primary pathological changes in the respiratory system or changes in the pulmonary vessels, leading to hypertension in the pulmonary artery and chronic right ventricular overload (including chronic right ventricular failure) .
Chronic pulmonary heart one of the most common causes of death
Chronic pulmonary heart is included in the group of the ten most common causes of death due to insufficiency of the respiratory system and the circulatory organ, as well as the irreversible and progressive nature of the changes found. In Poland, cases of chronic pulmonary heart are relatively common, as as many as 4–9% of patients require hospital treatment in internal medicine departments.
Chronic pulmonary heart – causes
The causes of chronic pulmonary heart disease may include:
• chronic diseases of the respiratory system, such as emphysema, recurrent pneumonia, pneumoconiosis, silicosis, chronic catarrh, i.e. bronchitis (often caused by heavy smoking),
• post-inflammatory fibrosis or after tuberculous lesions in the lung tissue,
• anatomical deformities – congenital or acquired – of the chest,
• bronchiectasis,
• thromboembolic changes in the vessels of the pulmonary circulation, etc.
As a result of the increasing dustiness in the atmospheric air and frequent recurrent respiratory tract infections and the expansion of smoking addiction by younger and younger people, the frequency of chronic pulmonary heart has clearly and systematically increased in recent years.
Symptoms of chronic pulmonary heart
Among the initial symptoms occurring in patients with chronic pulmonary heart, we can distinguish:
• more or less severe breathlessness on exertion (and in more severe cases even at rest),
• persistent cough accompanied by exuding yellow-green or rusty sputum,
• general weakness,
• heaviness,
• lowering mental and physical activity,
• drowsiness and even a blackout, including loss of consciousness,
• bluish or pale gray skin discoloration, especially of the lips, earlobes, cheeks, fingers and toes, and in more severe disease states the whole body.
At a later stage of chronic pulmonary heart disease – as an expression of developing circulatory failure – lower limb edema and exudation, i.e. free fluid in the body cavities (pleura, peritoneum, pericardial sac) are added.
At the end of chronic pulmonary heart disease, many patients also develop cardiac arrhythmias.
Chronic pulmonary hearts – treatment and prevention
Chronic pulmonary heart has a root cause in the respiratory system and is chronic in nature. For this reason, effective counteracting the occurrence of the disease and the negative consequences leads to the prevention of all diseases of the respiratory system, which in their chronic course cause:
- limitation of the gas exchange surface in the alveoli,
- chronic bronchitis,
- reduced volume of the vascular bed, pulmonary circulation, etc.
Consequently, this action prevents an increase in pressure in the bed of the pulmonary artery and chronic stress on the right ventricle.
Preventive actions mainly consist in stopping smoking and systematic, effective treatment under the supervision of a doctor of all chronic diseases of the respiratory system.
In people with a developed pulmonary heart, it is very important and brings relief – improvement of alveolar ventilation by breathing exercises that extend the exhalation and deepen the inhalation, e.g. exhale through a rubber (plastic) tube or a glass tube into a vessel with water, or exhale through closed mouth or inhalation deep with the maximum use of the diaphragm, procedures facilitating the clearing and cleaning of the airways performed under the supervision of a health visitor and home doctor.
Domestic proceedings
Often, in order to relieve the perceived ailments of chronic pulmonary heart at home, it is necessary to resort to taking pharmacological preparations recommended and tested by a doctor, which:
- expanding the bronchi, they facilitate lung ventilation and gas exchange;
- by acting antibacterial, they eliminate or alleviate chronic catarrh of the respiratory tract, increasing – especially in the spring or autumn season – shortness of breath;
- thanks to the effect of thinning the secretion of the respiratory tract and expectorant, they facilitate the opening of the bronchial tree and thus reduce the subjective feeling of dyspnea;
Accompanying circulatory failure makes it necessary for a physician to start treatment supporting the circulatory system. Sudden deterioration of respiratory and circulatory function in people with chronic pulmonary heart is usually the result of an infection of the bronchi or lung parenchyma. The lack of home treatment effects by a doctor and the patient’s deteriorating health condition are indications for hospitalization.