A Prospective Study to Evaluate the Association between Electrocardiographic Findings and Severity of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Severity

Dhaval Surani, Dr Ranjit Suva

Interdisciplinary Journal of Medicine and Scientific Research 2025; 1 (1); 6-11.

Abstract

Background: Patients with COPD often have cardiac irregularities, and an electrocardiogram is a useful tool for determining the severity of these issues.

Aim and objectives: The purpose of this study is to classify the electrocardiographic results of individuals with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) according to the severity of their condition.

Materials and Methods: From February 2020 to July 2021, a total of one hundred patients with COPD as confirmed by clinical examination, chest x-ray, and pulmonary function test were analysed at the GGGH Hospital in Jamnagar.  Based on their forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1), patients were classified as having mild (FEV1 60-79), moderate (FEV1 40-59), or severe (FEV1 <40) COPD. The severity of COPD was correlated with the results of trans-thoracic Doppler and M-mode echocardiography. Results: Overall, 87% of participants were male. The average age of the participants in the study was 61.4511.27. Patients in their fifth or seventh decade of life were more likely to be diagnosed with COPD. The average expected FEV1 was 36.78 11.56 percent. In this group, severe COPD accounted for 65% of the patients. Breathlessness was the most prevalent symptom of COPD (100%) followed closely by a cough that produced phlegm (96%). Most had right ventricular hypertrophy (34%), dilatation (52%), and diastolic dysfunction (34%), whereas 58% had corpulmonale and pulmonary hypertension (62%). Only 2 of the patients with moderate COPD showed pulmonary hypertension.  In the severe COPD group, 75% of patients exhibited pulmonary hypertension and 82% had echocardiographic evidence of corpulmonale, while in the moderate COPD group, these numbers were 31% and 28%, respectively.