Cardiac rhythm disturbances in patients of COPD and it’s correlation with its severity

Abstract

Background: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is defined as a disease state characterized by airflow limitation that is not fully reversible”.The global prevalence of physiologically defined chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (GOLD stage 2 or more) in adults aged ≥40 years is approximately 9-10 percent. Large prospective and retrospective studies of COPD patients showed that the most common causes of their demise were cardiovascular events. Patients suffering from the chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are at increased risk of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. The information on various cardiac rhythm disturbances on Holter monitoring is scarce in COPD patients. Objectives:The purpose of this study was to evaluate various cardiac rhythm disturbances in COPD patients and to correlate cardiac rhythm disturbances with the severity of COPD. Materials and Methods: This is a prospective observational study which was conducted on 57 COPD patients, based on inclusion and exclusion criteria all the study population were subjected to Pulmonary function test and 24-hour Holter monitoring. Results: 22.81% of the patients were found to have some kind of arrhythmia. The Atrial premature complex was the most common type of arrhythmia. In this study, we have found arrhythmias in a significant number of patients.Conclusion: As the severity of COPD increases, the frequency of arrhythmia also increases. This was statistically significant (0.017).The clinical inference is that timely management of factors,such as hypoxia,coronary artery disease, and avoidance of arrhythmogenic drugswhich can trigger arrhythmias in COPD patients,can considerably reduce mortality in such patients.