______ is enlargement or dysfunction of the right ventricle due to pulmonary hypertension.

______ is enlargement or dysfunction of the right ventricle due to pulmonary hypertension.

• A. Pulmonary Hypertension
• B. Right Heart Failure
• C. Cor Pulmonale
• D. Left Ventricular Hypertrophy

Answer: (C)

Cor pulmonale is enlargement or dysfunction of the right ventricle caused by pulmonary hypertension. When the pressures in the pulmonary arteries rise, the right ventricle must work harder to pump blood through the lungs. That increased afterload leads the RV to undergo hypertrophy to cope, and over time it can dilate and fail. Clinically this manifests as worsening dyspnea and signs of right-sided congestion—peripheral edema, hepatomegaly, and elevated jugular venous pressure—often with a loud or accented P2 on exam. This term specifically describes the cardiac consequence of pulmonary hypertension, whereas pulmonary hypertension itself refers to the high pressure in the pulmonary vasculature, and left ventricular hypertrophy involves the left ventricle. Cor pulmonale is the best fit for the described enlargement or dysfunction of the right ventricle due to pulmonary hypertension.

Cor pulmonale is enlargement or dysfunction of the right ventricle caused by pulmonary hypertension. When the pressures in the pulmonary arteries rise, the right ventricle must work harder to pump blood through the lungs. That increased afterload leads the RV to undergo hypertrophy to cope, and over time it can dilate and fail. Clinically this manifests as worsening dyspnea and signs of right-sided congestion—peripheral edema, hepatomegaly, and elevated jugular venous pressure—often with a loud or accented P2 on exam. This term specifically describes the cardiac consequence of pulmonary hypertension, whereas pulmonary hypertension itself refers to the high pressure in the pulmonary vasculature, and left ventricular hypertrophy involves the left ventricle. Cor pulmonale is the best fit for the described enlargement or dysfunction of the right ventricle due to pulmonary hypertension.