Giornale italiano di cardiologia : organo ufficiale della Federazione italiana di cardiologia : organo ufficiale della Società italiana di chirurgia cardiaca
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G Ital Cardiol (Rome) · Mar 2018
Review[Lung and heart interaction: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and ischemic heart disease].
The interaction between the lung and the heart is a vast, complex, and fascinating topic and, from a clinical point of view, disorders of the one often influence and promote disorders of the other. This is especially true for chronic diseases, with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and ischemic heart disease (IHD) representing a classic example. Epidemiologic data indicate that cardiovascular diseases are frequent in patients with COPD, and vice versa. ⋯ However, the identification of COPD in patients with known IHD, and vice versa, is very important, due to higher risk of worse outcomes, lower quality of life, higher hospitalization and, ultimately, higher mortality. Similarly, therapeutic management may be challenging, due to apparently contrasting indications, such as the use of beta-blockers in IHD, and beta2-agonists in COPD, and possible cardiac side effects of bronchodilators. In this narrative review we will discuss these topics, providing a comprehensive evaluation of these two relevant comorbidities.