Accelerated right heart failure due to lung resection in the setting of chronic respiratory failure

Naji Maaliki; Jorge Verdecia; Madeline Fasen; Aleem Azal Ali; Win Aung

doi:10.1016/j.jccase.2021.06.007

Accelerated right heart failure due to lung resection in the setting of chronic respiratory failure

J Cardiol Cases. 2021 Jul 8;25(1):42-45. doi: 10.1016/j.jccase.2021.06.007. eCollection 2022 Jan.

Authors

Naji Maaliki¹, Jorge Verdecia¹, Madeline Fasen¹, Aleem Azal Ali¹, Win Aung¹

Affiliation

¹ Internal Medicine, University of Florida College of Medicine-Jacksonville, 655 8th Street, Jacksonville, FL 32209, United States.

Abstract

A 68-year-old woman with a past medical history of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and squamous cell carcinoma of the lung with recent right upper and middle lobectomy was admitted for dyspnea and volume overload. She was diagnosed with right-sided heart failure (RHF) through clinical, laboratory, and echocardiographic means. In the setting of chronic respiratory failure, the recent right lung lobectomy was deemed to be the inciting factor of the RHF. The mechanism by which RHF occurs in this situation is multifactorial, and it is essential to undergo pre-operative risk stratification and post-operative monitoring to avoid emergent events. <Learning objective: New-onset right heart failure can be a detrimental complication of lung resection surgery in patients with chronic respiratory failure. With proper pre-operative risk stratification and its corresponding post-operative monitoring, we can anticipate such occurrences and avoid emergent admissions, enabling better outcomes in a high-risk patient population.>.

Keywords: Lung resection; Pre-operative assessment; Respiratory physiology; Right heart failure.

Publication types

Case Reports