The medical disability evaluation of patients with pulmonary hypertension and cor pulmonale]

The purpose of the study was to elaborate criteria for the assessment of the severity of pulmonary hypertension and cor pulmonale in patients with chronic bronchitis and to give rationale for expert medical evaluation of the working capacity of such patients. 94 patients (89 males and 5 females) aged 20 to 60 with chronic bronchitis were examined. Basing on the clinical, x-ray, ECG, VCG and echocardiography data, the gravity of cor pulmonale was assessed by the degree of right ventricular hypertrophy (absent, mild, marked, dramatically marked), changes in the right ventricular echo dimensions and the stage of heart failure, and by the lung vital capacity (in percent of the predicted value). The rationale for expert medical evaluation of patients with associated cor pulmonale and chronic bronchitis is described.