[Study of myocardial morphology in chronic obstructive bronchitis complicated by pulmonary hypertension based on the results of endomyocardial biopsy].

Endomyocardial biopsy along with right heart catheterization was first performed in 12 patients with chronic obstructive bronchitis complicated by transient or sustained pulmonary hypertension. Light and electron microscopic findings showed signs of severe myocardial dystrophy in 7 patients and prevalent hypertrophy in the remaining patients. Endomyocardial biopsy provided valuable information on the state of the myocardium, yielding evidence for the heretogeneous nature of right ventricular myocardial changes. Two morphological variants of cor pulmonale--hypertrophic and dystrophic--could be identified with regard to the findings.