important question?

Question

I'm not sure if this is in the right place or not. My mother was just told she has cardiopulmonary disease and I can't find anything on the internet to tell me what it is. If anyone knows, I would appreciate anything you can tell me.

Answer 1

Cardio== Heart. Pulmonary== Lung
In heart disease, when the heart cannot pump all the blood it receives, there is back pressure on the lungs. There is shortness of breath and fluid in the lungs. Similarly , in lung disease, the heart is affected and signs of heart failure may develop. tHe doctors will probably treat the primary condition and heart failure. They may keep your mother on diuretics, or water - pills.

Answer 2

Pathogenesis - Cardiopulmonary Disease

Several disease entities can result from a D. immitis infection. Of paramount concern is cardiopulmonary disease, where one finds narrowing and occlusion of the pulmonary arteries due to proliferation of intima, not direct blockage by the adult worms. The distribution and severity of the lesions does depend on both the number and location of adult worms, but caudal lobar arteries are the most heavily infected. If there is a high worm burden, worms may be found in the right atrium and ventricles, and the vena cavae may be involved as well.


Pulmonary hypertension is the major consequence of intimal proliferation, and one can see right ventricular dilation and hypertrophy, as well as ischemia and right ventricular failure as a result.

It has been proposed that heartworms disrupt the intima of the pulmonary arteries, attracting platelets, and stimulating release of Platelet Derived Growth Factor (PDGF). PDGF triggers proliferation of medial smooth muscle cells and fibroblasts. Endothelial cells also secrete PDGF, which may help maintain plaque growth.

Changes to the lung parenchyma can be seen upon necropsy, with edema around the arteries, thromboemboli containing dead adults, and areas of inflammation near dead adults, microfilariae, and thrombi.
Individuals with cardiopulmonary disease may show exercise intolerance, and this can lead to right-sided heart failure. Heart failure in these individuals can be acute or gradual, and can lead to ascites, hydrothorax, and hydroperitoneum.

Clinical signs of cardiopulmonary disease can vary from no signs at all, to chronic coughing, dyspnea, hemoptysis, and syncope. Exercise intolerance can be present, increasing in severity with increasing resistance to pulmonary blood flow. Heartworm infections of a given size will be less well tolerated by working or sporting dogs than by sedentary dogs. These signs may resolve completely following successful adulticide treatment.

Pulmonary thromboembolism can occur, and is often a response to dying adult worms, whether the death of the worms be spontaneous or due to treatment with adulticidal drugs. Thrombi form around a degenerating parasite, and a periarterial granuloma can develop in the lung parenchyma.

Answer 3

Not to be mean, but I just googled "cardiopulmonary disease" and got 1,100,000 hits.

Answer 4

Look up heart-lung disease, heart failure, heart attack, embollism, stroke, blood clots, arteriosclerosis, high blood pressure... You're not looking hard enough. Also, every doctor's office has pamphlets on this.

Answer 5

Try this site http://www.webmd.com/ has a lot of useful information.