The Clinical Manifestations of the Various Types of Right Sided Heart Failure (Cor Pulmonale)

Article1 September 1939THE CLINICAL MANIFESTATIONS OF THE VARIOUS TYPES OF RIGHT SIDED HEART FAILURE (COR PULMONALE)I. C. BRILL, M.D., F.A.C.P.I. C. BRILL, M.D., F.A.C.P.Author, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-13-3-513 SectionsAboutPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail ExcerptAlthough the interdependence of the several cardiac chambers in the maintenance of efficient circulatory function is acknowledged, it is nevertheless recognized that the various anatomical and physiological disorders which disturb the cardiac function often affect, at least for a time, one side of the heart more than the other; and that in most instances the early clinical manifestations tend to indicate whether the right or the left ventricle is mainly involved. Furthermore, the recognition of the particular side of the heart initially affected often will furnish diagnostic evidence of the underlying pathological process as well as therapeutic indications for the...References1. WEISSROBB SGP: Cardiac asthma (paroxysmal cardiac dyspnea) and the syndrome of left ventricular failure, Jr. Am. Med. Assoc., 1933, c, 1841. CrossrefGoogle Scholar2. WHITE PD: Weakness and failure of the left ventricle without failure of the right ventricle: Clinical recognition, Jr. Am. Med. Assoc., 1933, c, 1993. CrossrefGoogle Scholar3. HARRISON TR: Failure of the circulation, 1935, Williams & Wilkins Company, Baltimore, p. 6. Google Scholar4. SMITH FM: Treatment of left ventricular failure, Jr. Am. Med. Assoc., 1937, cix, 646. CrossrefGoogle Scholar5. FISHBERG AM: Heart failure, 1937, Lea & Febiger, Philadelphia, p. 557. Google Scholar6. AALSMEERWENCKEBACH WCKS: Herz und Kreislauf bei der Beri-beri-Krankheit, Wien. Arch. f. inn. Med., 1929, xvi, 193. 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Cor pulmonale in this sense would therefore include all instances of cardiac strain in which the right side is involved on the basis of pathological anatomy or physiology peculiar to that side. However, "cor pulmonale" cannot logically include right sided heart failure occurring simultaneously with failure of the left side of the heart brought about by conditions affecting the heart as a whole, as exemplified by the cardiopathies of hyperthyroidism, acute myocarditis, myxedema, anemia, beri-beri, prolonged paroxysmal tachycardia, and functional persistent auricular fibrillation. In some of these instances, particularly in the beri-beri heart, evidence of right sided heart failure (congestion of the systemic veins and liver) may predominate over pulmonary engorgement; and although the heart as a whole is much enlarged, the dilatation of the right auricle and ventricle as well as of the pulmonary artery may appear especially prominent in the roentgenogram.5 This may be due to the lesser reserve of the musculature of the right chambers, or as suggested by Aalsmeer and Wenckebach, 6 to the fact that the left ventricle is functionally spared by the greatly reduced output of the right ventricle. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Metrics Cited byThe electrocardiogram in cor pulmonaleCor Pulmonale: A Semantic Consideration, with Brief Notes on Diagnosis and TreatmentCHANGES IN SERUM-POTASSIUM LEVEL AND IN pH OF ARTERIAL BLOOD IN RESPIRATORY ACIDOSISThe effect of chronic pulmonary disease on the heartThe Question of the Function of the Right Ventricular Myocardium: An Experimental StudyTHE HEART IN THE PNEUMOCONIOSIS OF COALMINERSPulmonary Heart Disease 1 September 1939Volume 13, Issue 3Page: 513-522KeywordsCardiac ventriclesHeartHeart diseasesHeart failureLeft ventricleLesionsPulmonary arteriesRight ventricleTachycardiaVeins Issue Published: 1 September 1939 PDF downloadLoading ...