Assessment of subclinical left ventricular systolic dysfunction and structural changes in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Background: Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) can develop left ventricular (LV) systolic dysfunction and geometric changes due to several reasons.

Aim: To investigate subclinical LV systolic dysfunction and structural features in patients with COPD, and its correlation with the severity of airway obstruction, identified by GOLD classification.

Methods: We studied 52 patients with COPD and 29 age and sex-matched controls, without any cardiac disease.