DIAGNOSIS OF EARLY REMODELING OF EXTRA- AND INTRACRANIAL ARTERIES IN PATIENS WITH CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE PULMONARY DISEASE

Abstract

Over 98 patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) were examined at different stages of chronic pulmonary heart development. The evaluation of the status of the main arteries of the head and cerebral hemodynamics depending on the severity of the disease was done. The results suggest that the progression of COPD against respiratory insufficiency and chronic hypoxia in these patients leads to the development of vascular remodeling processes in the brain. COPD patients without pulmonary hypertension at rest had the increase of indices reflecting peripheral resistance at the extracranial level. As the chronic pulmonary heart forms there is the growth of thickness of the complex «intima-media» of common carotid arteries, and the reduction of regional and total cerebral blood flow. It was revealed that with the growth of the degree of bronchial obstruction, gas composition and rheological properties of blood correlate with indicators of cerebral hemodynamics. Slowing the rate of cerebral blood flow, arterial hypoxemia and hypercapnia in patients with COPD lead to the development of dyscirculatory encephalopathy which affects the quality of life and prognosis of the disease.