Further studies on diastolic dysfunction in patients with airway obstruction should be kept in mind

摘要

We read the article "Airway obstruction in systolic heart failure (SHF) - Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or congestion?" by Susanne Brenner et al. with interest [1 ]. The authors aimed to estimate the prevalence, correlates and prognostic impact of true COPD in patients with SHF. They concluded that COPD is over-diagnosed in SHF. Also, COPD has a pronounced impact on survival only when proven by pulmonary function testing (PFT) under stable conditions.Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and heart failure are prevalent comorbidities affecting a huge proportion of the world population, responsible for significant morbidity and mortality [2]. COPD is a cluster of heterogenic disorders, characterized by expiratory flow limitation that is not completely reversible and in most cases progressive. A clinical diagnosis of COPD should be considered in any patient who has dyspnea, chronic cough or sputum production and history of exposure of risk factors such as smoking.