Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and Pulmonary Hypertension: Prevalence and Quality of Life

Chronisch Obstruktive Lungenerkrankung Und Pulmonale Hypertonie: Prävalenz Und Lebensqualität

The purpose of this study is to determine the prevalence of pulmonary hypertension (PH) among patients suffering from Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and to assess the quality of life in those patients with concomitant PH compared to COPD patients without PH and those only suffering from pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) respectively.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Age ≥ 18 years
• Known or newly diagnosed COPD or PAH
• Written informed consent
• Present long-term oxygen treatment is no exclusion criterion

Exclusion Criteria:

• Age < 18 years
• Right-heart catheterization not reasonable
• Pregnancy, Lactation
• Life expectancy <12 months due to any diseases aside from COPD
• Any medical, psychological or other condition, which limits the patient's ability to provide informed consent
• No written informed consent provided
• Current participation in another clinical trial