الفهرس 
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Abstract
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a disease state characterized by progressive airflow limitation, and is associated with an abnormal inflammatory response of the lungs to noxious particles or gases, primarily caused by cigarette smoking. Pulmonary hypertension primarily occurs in COPD patients with severe hypoxemia and fortunately it is typically mild. Hypoxemia increases pulmonary artery pressure (PAP) through hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction and vascular remodeling, but there is a correlation between lung function parameters and PAP, suggesting that factors other than airway obstruction and/or loss of alveolar surface may play a role in its etiology.
This study is a prospective study including 80 cases referred to Ain Shams university hospital presented with COPD defined using the standard criteria for chronic bronchitis, i.e. presence of cough with expectoration for more than three months in a year for the past two or more years with history of exposure to a predisposing factor (e.g. smoking).
The study population was subjected to personal and medical history (age, gender, smoking habits, and associated co-morbidities), physical examination, laboratory investigations including arterial blood gases on room air, spirometry with pre and post bronchodilator treatment and trans-thoracic echocardiography.
The results showed that there was significant correlation between RVSP value and each of the following; age, duration of smoking and degree of airway obstruction which were all contributing to pulmonary hypertension in COPD patients, while there was no correlation between RVSP value and hemoglobin level. It also showed that degree of airway obstruction is an independent predictor for pulmonary hypertension in stable COPD patients.
Among our 80 patients, 18 had elevated RVSP value. The mean age of those 18 patients was 58.8 ± 7.78 years while in those with normal RVSP 54.15 ± 10.56 years. Those 18 patients had mean FEV1 (%) of predicted of 44.5 ± 12.1% while in those with normal RVSP value 48.72 ± 1.62%. Among those 18 patients 16 had history of smoking for >20 years representing 88.9%.