Lung function in COPD is correlated with increased left ventricular wall stress in coincident heart failure

Background: COPD and heart failure exhibit a considerable coincidence. Beside a well-known increased right heart load, dedicated pulmonary interactions with the left ventricle (LV) are less understood and the question remains, whether specific interactions exist beyond common shared risk factors of both diseases. Methods and Results: LV wall stress was measured by cardiac magnetic resonance imaging in 28 patients with COPD (GOLD I to III) and heart failure (LVEF of 42 ± 19%) due to non-ischemic (19 patients) and ischemic cardiomyopathy (9 patients). Noteworthy, reduced lung function was associated with ventricul…