COPD and Heart Failure: Symptoms, Causes, Treatment, and More
Some people have severe COPD and only mild heart failure; others have severe heart failure and only mild COPD. In these cases, the more severe condition is more likely to be the cause of symptoms.
In people with COPD and heart failure of about equal severity, doctors must make their best guess as to which condition is causing symptoms.
Making things even more complicated, COPD and heart failure can at times act up simultaneously. For example, if someone has worsening heart failure symptoms that cause rapid breathing, this can cause COPD symptoms to worsen, as well.
If doctors cannot reliably distinguish between shortness of breath from CHF and COPD, both conditions are often treated together.
Treatments for COPD focus on the lungs and the airways, the branching network of tubes inside the lungs. The main treatments for COPD are bronchodilators, inhaled medicines that help open the airways.
Heart failure treatments reduce the workload on the heart and help prevent unhealthy growth of heart muscle. Categories of treatments for heart failure include:
People with severe shortness of breath from COPD and heart failure may receive other treatments, as well:
People with both COPD and heart failure are often treated by a team of doctors, including a primary care physician, a cardiologist, and a pulmonologist.
COPD and Heart Failure
In this article
- Symptoms of COPD and Heart Failure
- COPD and Left-Sided Heart Failure
- COPD and Right-Sided Heart Failure
- Telling the Difference Between COPD and Heart Failure
- Treating COPD and Heart Failure
Telling the Difference Between COPD and Heart Failure continued...
Some people have severe COPD and only mild heart failure; others have severe heart failure and only mild COPD. In these cases, the more severe condition is more likely to be the cause of symptoms.
In people with COPD and heart failure of about equal severity, doctors must make their best guess as to which condition is causing symptoms.
Making things even more complicated, COPD and heart failure can at times act up simultaneously. For example, if someone has worsening heart failure symptoms that cause rapid breathing, this can cause COPD symptoms to worsen, as well.
Treating COPD and Heart Failure
If doctors cannot reliably distinguish between shortness of breath from CHF and COPD, both conditions are often treated together.
Treatments for COPD focus on the lungs and the airways, the branching network of tubes inside the lungs. The main treatments for COPD are bronchodilators, inhaled medicines that help open the airways.
Heart failure treatments reduce the workload on the heart and help prevent unhealthy growth of heart muscle. Categories of treatments for heart failure include:
- Diuretics, which increase urination and reduce the heart strain from fluid overload
- Beta-blockers, which prevent excessive stress on the heart and reduce blood pressure; however, these would not be used if a person is having an acute episode of heart failure.
- Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, which lower blood pressure and reduce heart stress
- Other blood pressure medicines, which prevent long-term damage to the heart
People with severe shortness of breath from COPD and heart failure may receive other treatments, as well:
- Corticosteroids, such as prednisone or Solu-Medrol, which can improve breathing in COPD
- Antibiotics, for any bacterial infection that may be contributing
- Supplemental oxygen
- Non-invasive positive pressure ventilation, a form of machine-assisted breathing
- Mechanical ventilation, or temporary life support through a breathing tube
- Intravenous medicines to help reduce heart strain
People with both COPD and heart failure are often treated by a team of doctors, including a primary care physician, a cardiologist, and a pulmonologist.
Source...