Assessment of the Right Ventricular Function in Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease using MRI

Yan Gao¹, Xianging Du¹, Wen Qin¹, Kuncheng Li¹

We studied right ventricular function in 46 patients with mild to severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) determined by the pulmonary function test (PFT) using MRI. Our study population consisted of 30 control subjects. The RVEF was significantly lower in severe COPD group than in other groups (p < 0.01). The correlation was excellent between the MRI results and forced expiratory volume in 1 sec (r = 0.859 for RVEF, r= -0.839 for RV MM) in COPD patients. The RVEF and RV MM measured by MRI correlate well with the severity of disease as determined by PFT in COPD patients.