Cor pulmonale is best described as ...

Cor pulmonale is best described as ...

• A. Left ventricular hypertrophy due to systemic hypertension.
• B. Alteration in structure and function of the right ventricle caused by primary disorder of respiratory system.
• C. Right ventricle dilation due to congenital heart disease.
• D. Primary myocardial infarction.

Answer: (B)

Cor pulmonale is the right heart’s structural and functional change driven by chronic lung disease that causes pulmonary hypertension. The best description is that the right ventricle undergoes alterations due to a primary respiratory disorder, increasing its afterload and leading to compensatory hypertrophy and, over time, failure. This differs from left-sided heart disease (like left ventricular hypertrophy from systemic hypertension) or from right ventricular dilation due to congenital heart disease or an acute myocardial infarction, which are not driven by primary lung pathology. In chronic lung conditions such as COPD, hypoxic vasoconstriction and vascular remodeling raise pulmonary pressures, stressing the right ventricle and producing cor pulmonale.

Cor pulmonale is the right heart’s structural and functional change driven by chronic lung disease that causes pulmonary hypertension. The best description is that the right ventricle undergoes alterations due to a primary respiratory disorder, increasing its afterload and leading to compensatory hypertrophy and, over time, failure. This differs from left-sided heart disease (like left ventricular hypertrophy from systemic hypertension) or from right ventricular dilation due to congenital heart disease or an acute myocardial infarction, which are not driven by primary lung pathology. In chronic lung conditions such as COPD, hypoxic vasoconstriction and vascular remodeling raise pulmonary pressures, stressing the right ventricle and producing cor pulmonale.