Circulation. Cardiovascular imaging
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Circ Cardiovasc Imaging · Apr 2015
Pulmonary artery enlargement is associated with right ventricular dysfunction and loss of blood volume in small pulmonary vessels in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease causes significant morbidity and concomitant pulmonary vascular disease and cardiac dysfunction are associated with poor prognosis. Computed tomography-detected relative pulmonary artery (PA) enlargement defined as a PA to ascending aorta diameter ratio >1 (PA:A>1) is a marker for pulmonary hypertension and predicts chronic obstructive pulmonary disease exacerbations. However, little is known about the relationship between the PA:A ratio, pulmonary blood volume, and cardiac function. ⋯ URL: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifier: NCT00608764.