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Cor pulmonale - Overview

Alternative Names

Right-sided heart failure

Definition of Cor pulmonale:

Cor pulmonale is failure of the right side of the heart caused by long-term high blood pressure in the pulmonary arteries and right ventricle of the heart.

Causes, incidence, and risk factors:

Normally, the left side of the heart produces a higher blood pressure in order to pump blood to the body. The right side of the heart pumps blood through the lungs under much lower pressure.

Any condition that leads to prolonged high blood pressure in the arteries of the lungs (called pulmonary hypertension) puts a strain on the right side of the heart. When the right ventricle is unable to properly pump against these abnormally high pressures, it is called cor pulmonale.

Almost any chronic lung disease or condition causing prolonged low blood oxygen levels can lead to cor pulmonale. A few of these causes include:

  • Reviewed last on: 11/12/2008
  • David C. Dugdale, III, MD, Professor of Medicine, Division of General Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine; and Benjamin Medoff, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Pulmonary and Critical Care Unit, Massachusetts General Hospital. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

References

Barst RJ. Pulmonary hypertension. In: Goldman L, Ausiello D, eds. Cecil Medicine. 23rd ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Saunders Elsevier; 2007: chap 67.

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