Background of the Study: COPD is primarily a lung disease with systemic manifestations including cardiovascular disease. Besides right-sided heart failure, there is increasing evidence that left ventricular (LV) dysfunction may also develop as a consequence of COPD. Dyspnea owing to both COPD and LV dysfunction may complicate treatment strategies and outcome if not identified and addressed optimally.

Objectives: To determine the echocardiographic findings of LV function of stable COPD patients in a tertiary training hospital; and, to correlate LV function with severity of airflow obstruction (GOLD criteria).

Methods: A cross-sectional analytical study was conducted to identify the echocardiographic findings of LV function among stable COPD patients. Thirty-seven consecutive COPD patients confirmed by spirometry and who underwent 2D transthoracic echocardiography were included in this study.

Results and Analysis: A majority of the study population were males (97.30%) with a mean age of 71.68 years in GOLD 2 (35.14%) and GOLD 3 (35.14%) severity of airway obstruction. The mean ejection fraction of subjects was 66.5%, mostly with an mMRC score of >2. COPD patients in GOLD 2 and 3 had increased likelihood to have LV diastolic dysfunction compared to GOLD 1 (OR of 2.25 and 1.60 respectively). Increased likelihood to have abnormal LV geometry was seen in GOLD 2 (OR 1.69) than GOLD 1. Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) was observed in 22 (59.46%) participants.

Conclusion: LV diastolic dysfunction was evident among COPD patients in GOLD 2 and GOLD 3. We recommend further studies involving bigger population.