Mild Lung Disease Linked to Heart Function

People with a mild form of a common lung condition—even those without symptoms—are at increased risk for heart problems, according to a new study. This is the first report that mild, often-symptomless chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) may be linked to the heart’s pumping ability.

COPD is the nation’s fourth leading cause of death. It affects an estimated 1 in 5 Americans over age 45, but as many as half the people who have it may not even be aware of it. The condition is strongly associated with smoking, and it often involves the destruction of lung tissue, called emphysema. COPD can bring persistent coughing, mucus production, wheezing, shortness of breath and chest tightness. Symptoms often worsen over time.

Researchers have long known that severe COPD can have harmful effects on the heart, decreasing its ability to pump blood effectively. To see if mild and even symptomless COPD might also be linked to reduced heart function, a team of scientists led by Dr. Graham Barr of Columbia University Medical Center studied 2,816 generally healthy adults ages 45 and older. About half were women. All were participants in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA), a large study designed to detect early signs of heart, lung and blood diseases before symptoms appear. MESA is supported by NIH’s National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI).

As described in the January 21, 2010, issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, the researchers used breathing tests and imaging studies of the chest to assess the structure and function of each person’s heart and lungs. None of the participants had severe COPD or heart disease, but many were found to have mild abnormalities in heart and lung function.

The scientists observed that as lung function and structure became increasingly impaired, so did the heart’s ability to fill with oxygen-rich blood. The volume of blood pumped per minute also dropped as lung function declined. The link between lung and heart function was strongest in the 370 participants who were current smokers, but it was also seen in people with mild COPD who had never smoked.

The new results suggest that these changes in heart function occur much earlier than previously realized, when COPD is mild or even before symptoms appear. Because the study population was ethnically mixed and covered a broad age range of apparently healthy people, the findings may be widely applicable to the general U.S. population.

“These results raise the intriguing possibility that treating lung disease may, in the future, improve heart function,” says Barr. “Further research is needed to prove whether treating mild COPD will help the heart work better.”

Related posts:

1. Medicare, NIH-Supported Study, Looks for Earliest Changes, in the Brain That May Lead to Alzheimer’s Disease Volunteers are being sought for a clinical study examining the subtle changes that may take place in the brains of older people many years before overt symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease appear. Researchers are looking for people with the very earliest complaints of memory problems that affect their daily activities. The study will follow participants over [...]...
2. MedicareCard.com – Adding Coronary Calcium Score to Traditional Risk Factors Improves Risk Assessment for Heart Disease Including a coronary artery calcium score in a risk assessment for future heart disease events, such as heart attacks, provides a better estimate in some populations than a standard coronar...
3. Medicare – Health Benefits of Using Less Salt Some countries have reduced their populations' salt intake by using various strategies, such as regulating the salt content in processed foods, requiring labels on ready-to-eat foods and educating the public. Researchers led by Dr. Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo at the University of California, San Francisco, set out to explore the potential impact of a modest reduction in dietary salt on the health of the U.S. population....
4. Medicare, New NIH data show gains in COPD awareness The number of Americans who report being aware of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD, increased by 4 percentage points between 2008 and 2010, but many people at risk are still unaware of the disease, according to mailed survey results released today by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), part of the National [...]...
5. NIH-funded study finds new possible risk factor of heart disease, Medicare NIH-funded study finds new possible risk factor of heart disease, Medicare...
6. American Heart Month American Heart Month...
7. Medicare – Targeting the Blood-Brain Barrier, May Delay Progression of Alzheimer’s Disease Researchers may be one step closer to slowing the onset and progression of Alzheimer's disease. An animal study supported by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), ...
8. Study Suggests Metabolic Network Finds Disease Links Study Suggests Metabolic Network Finds Disease Links...
9. Medicare, Deep Brain Stimulation, Two Different Targets, Produces Similar Motor Improvements in Parkinson’s Disease In a major study, investigators have compared how individuals with Parkinson’s disease respond to deep brain stimulation (DBS) at two different sites in the brain. Contrary to current belief, patients who received DBS at either site in the brain experienced comparable benefits for the motor symptoms of Parkinson’s....
10. Preeclampsia May Lead to Reduced Thyroid Function In the Norway study, women who had preeclampsia in their first pregnancy were 1.7 times as likely to have high TSH an average of 20 years later as women who hadn’t had preeclampsia. Women with preeclampsia in both their first and second pregnancies were nearly 6 times as likely to have high TSH levels....
11. Medicare Card: Gene Linked to Alzheimer’s Disease Plays Key Role in Cell Survival Scientists have discovered that a gene linked to Alzheimer’s disease may play a beneficial role in cell survival by enabling neurons to clear away toxic proteins. A study funded by the National Institute on Aging (NIA), part of the National Institutes of Health, shows the presenilin 1 (PS1) gene is essential to the function of [...]...
12. Possible alternate therapy for adults with poorly controlled asthma A drug commonly used for the treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) successfully treats adults whose asthma is not well-controlled on low doses of inhaled corticosteroids, reported researchers supported by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), part of the National Institutes of Health....
13. Medicare – NHLBI Funds Preclinical Tests on Devices for Infants and Children with Congenital Heart Defects The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), part of the National Institutes of Health, has awarded four contracts totaling $23.6 million to begin preclinical testing of devices to help children born with congenital heart defects or those who develop heart failure. The four-year program is called Pumps for Kids, Infants, and Neonates (PumpKIN)....
14. Medicare Card, Stroke Prevention Study, Children with Sickle Cell Anemia, Iron Overload Stopped Early The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) has stopped a clinical trial evaluating a new approach to reduce the risk of recurrent stroke in children with sickle cell anemia and iron overload because of evidence that the new treatment was unlikely to prove better than the existing treatment....
15. MedicareCard, Newer Heart Surgery, Infants Offers First-Year Survival Benefit over Traditional Procedure Infants born with a severely underdeveloped heart who undergo a newer surgical procedure are more likely to survive their first year and not require a heart transplant than those who have a more traditional surgical procedure, according to a report by researchers supported by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), which is part [...]...