PATHOPHYSIOLOGY IN PULMONARY HEART DISEASES, WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO ROLE OF PULMONARY HYPERTENSION, HYPOXEMIA AND RIGHT VENTRICULAR HYPERTROPHY ON RIGHT HEART FAILURE

Abstract

Promotive factors to lower seriously the mean tissue oxygen tension of the right ventricle were mathematically calculated by means of digital computer, considering that congestive cardiac failure In pulmonary heart diseases was caused by the oxygen deficiency in the right ventricular muscles. One of factors would be pulmonary hypertension related to alveolar hypoxia or asphyxia caused by disturbances of pulmonary gas exchange, and the other would be relative coronary insufficiency due to increase in works of the right ventricle caused by pulmonary arterial hypertension and decrease in coronary blood flow. Also, the results suggested that right ventricular hypertrophy itself predisposed relatively little to congestive cardiac failure. Therefore. in most cases without complications such as mechanical disturbances of coronary vessels, arteriosclerosis, and so forth, could pulmonary infections be protected, clearing of airways be maintained and arterial gas compositions would remain within normal limits, signs of congestive cardiac failure would not appear even if there existed much impairments of tissues in the lungs.