Kia ora team.

Cor pulmonale is right sided heart failure due to chronic pulmonary hypertension

Common causes of chronic pulmonary hypertension
chronic respiratory disease eg COPD, emphysema
chronic pulmonary embolism
cystic fibrosis

Decreased ventilation of alveoli can cause hypoxia.

To prevent a V/Q (ventilation / perfusion) mismatch the body causes vasoconstriction of the blood vessels around that area. If this is widespread, then this increases resistance to blood flow. This causes pulmonary hypertension and increases the afterload of the right side of the heart.

The right side of the heart has to work harder to overcome this resistance. Over time, the right ventricle undergoes hypertrophy, which leaves less space inside the chamber to fill with blood, thereby decreasing preload. This is known as diastolic heart failure

Insufficient cardiac output from the right ventricle will cause blood to backlog into the right atria, vena cava, and the systemic circulation (rest of the body). Patients may present with jugular vein distension, ascites (abdominal oedema) and peripheral oedema.

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