This patient is not breathing properly: is this COPD, heart failure, or neither?

Abstract

INTRODUCTION:

Heart failure (HF) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are two common, heterogeneous, long-term illnesses which cause significant morbidity and mortality. Although they both present with breathlessness, they are treated differently. Treatment of COPD focuses mainly on relieving short-term breathlessness, whilst treatment of HF has focused on long term morbidity and mortality. Areas covered: In this review, we aim to highlight the diagnostic challenges in distinguishing COPD from HF. We also explore the implications of their overlap, and the use of biomarkers and treatments for HF in patients with COPD to improve long-term outcomes. Expert commentary: Cardiovascular morbidity and mortality amongst patients with COPD is substantial. Approaches which identify patients with COPD at highest cardiovascular risk may therefore be helpful. A trial targeting those patients with COPD and raised natriuretic peptide levels might be the way to test whether cardiovascular medication has anything to offer the respiratory patient.

• Authors: Pierpaolo Pellicori, Damien Salekin, Daniel Pan, Andrew L Clark
• Journal: Expert review of cardiovascular therapy (Expert Rev Cardiovasc Ther) Vol. 15 Issue 5 Pg. 389-396 (May 2017) ISSN: 1744-8344 [Electronic] England
• PMID: 28395556 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Review)

Chemical References

• Cardiovascular Agents
• Natriuretic Peptides

Topics

• Cardiovascular Agents (therapeutic use)
• Cardiovascular Diseases (etiology)
• Heart Failure (diagnosis, physiopathology)
• Humans
• Natriuretic Peptides (metabolism)
• Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive (diagnosis)
• Risk Factors