Why monitoring the lungs matters for Cardiovascular health
Your heart and lungs work in constant partnership to deliver oxygen throughout the body. When one struggles, the other often feels the impact. This blog explores the connection between the cardiovascular and respiratory systems, the overlap between COPD and heart disease, and how pulmonary function testing like spirometry and DLCO plays a critical role in monitoring heart failure and lung health.
You’re aware that your heart pumps blood and your lungs help you breathe but did you know that your heart and lungs work together? The circulatory and respiratory systems are more closely related than you might realize. Here’s why.
The heart and lungs: An essential connection #
Your lungs and heart make a team, ensuring oxygen gets to the rest of the body. Oxygen-depleted blood makes its way into the right side of the heart from the body. From there, the blood travels to the lungs to pick up oxygen. After the blood is full of oxygen, the left side of the heart pumps the oxygenated blood out to the rest of the body, making sure every organ, tissue, and cell gets the oxygen it needs.
(Fun fact: It takes about 20 seconds for oxygenated blood to travel from the heart to the toes and back!)
Since the lungs team up with the heart, breathing problems can arise when the lungs or the heart are not functioning correctly.
Heart and lung conditions present as shortness of breath, low oxygen saturation, fatigue, palpitations, dizziness, and fainting.
Problems related to both the lungs and heart include:
- asthma
- emphysema
- bronchitis
- pulmonary hypertension
- sleep apnea
- heart arrhythmias
- chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
- heart failure
The relationship between the cardiovascular and pulmonary systems means that COPD and cardiovascular diseases (CVD), including heart failure, frequently coincide.1 Let’s look at this relationship in further detail.
How COPD and CVD can overlap and lead to bigger problems #
Both those living with COPD and those living with CVD typically share common risk factors, such as smoking and a sedentary lifestyle. People who have both of these conditions often fare worse than those who only have one or the other.1
Facts about the overlap of COPD and CVD:
- In two primary care and hospital cohorts of patients with or at risk for COPD, lung function was carefully characterized with high‑quality spirometry using ndd Medical Technologies’ Easy on‑PC. Cardiovascular comorbidities were frequent: roughly 10% in a large US primary‑care COPD screening cohort and more than half in a post‑exacerbation inpatient cohort.23
- COPD is significantly associated with increased mortality and hospitalization in patients with CVD.1
- Women who have COPD and heart failure have a 15% higher risk of early death than men, despite similar rates of smoking and reduced pulmonary function.45
COPD impacts the pulmonary system in multiple ways. When the lungs don’t function correctly, it puts added stress on the heart. People with COPD have obstructed airflow, but their lungs also hyperinflate. With hyperinflated lungs in particular, airflow becomes limited, increasing pressures in the cardiovascular system, negatively affecting how the heart works, and ultimately resulting in decreased cardiac output.6 7 In other words, when lungs don’t breathe properly, the heart fails to pump enough oxygenated blood to meet your body’s needs.
If you have been diagnosed with a cardiovascular disease or COPD, it’s crucial to make changes, like exercise and quitting smoking, to help improve your outcome.
In addition to lifestyle changes, it’s also vital to monitor your lung function.
How are pulmonary function tests used in monitoring heart failure? #
You might have heard of pulmonary function testing for COPD, but people living with CVD also benefit from lung function tests. Specifically, pulmonary function tests are helpful tools for people living with chronic and stable heart failure.
Spirometry in heart failure #
FEV1, forced expiratory volume in one second, is a parameter measured during spirometry. FEV1 measurements show the amount of exhaled air during the first second of a forced breath.
The MyoVasc study, a prospective study described in the journal CHEST, found that FEV1 offers a promising tool in heart failure. The researchers found that FEV1 can improve risk stratification and determine prevention strategies in people living with chronic and stable heart failure.8
Monitor PFTs in your cardiology office with the EasyOne Pro & Pro LAB—accurate, reliable, and easy to use.
Explore our complete PFT machines today!
DLCO in heart failure #
DLCO, diffusion capacity of the lungs for carbon monoxide, is a lung function test measuring how well the lungs transfer gases from inhaled air into the blood.
DLCO is an important prognostic tool in managing people with heart failure: Studies have shown that DLCO predicts mortality in patients with heart failure.9 DLCO is also used to monitor lung damage as a result of pulmonary toxicity.
Lung function testing is crucial for anyone with COPD or heart failure. Lung function tests like spirometry and DLCO help your provider develop a treatment plan that’s right for you.
Click here to learn more about DLCO or spirometry.
Heffernan M, Rutherford S. The Intersection of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and Cardiovascular Disease: Recent Insights in a Challenging Area. CJC Open. 2025;7(4):493-507. doi:10.1016/j.cjco.2025.01.001 ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎
Martinez FJ, Han MK, Lopez C, et al. Discriminative Accuracy of the CAPTURE Tool for Identifying Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease in US Primary Care Settings. JAMA. 2023;329(6):490. doi:10.1001/jama.2023.0128 ↩︎
Price DB, Yang S, Wan Yau Ming S, et al. Physiological predictors Of peak inspiRatory flow using Observed lung function resultS (POROS): evaluation at discharge among patients hospitalized for a COPD exacerbation. Int J Chron Obstruct Pulmon Dis. 2018;Volume 13:3937-3946. doi:10.2147/COPD.S174371 ↩︎
Lawson CA, Mamas MA, Jones PW, et al. Association of Medication Intensity and Stages of Airflow Limitation With the Risk of Hospitalization or Death in Patients With Heart Failure and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. JAMA Netw Open. 2018;1(8):e185489. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2018.5489 ↩︎
Ringbaek T, Seersholm N, Viskum K. Standardised mortality rates in females and males with COPD and asthma. Eur Respir J. 2005;25(5):891-895. doi:10.1183/09031936.05.00099204 ↩︎
Rabe KF, Hurst JR, Suissa S. Cardiovascular disease and COPD: dangerous liaisons? Eur Respir Rev. 2018;27(149). doi:10.1183/16000617.0057-2018 ↩︎
Magnussen H, Canepa M, Zambito PE, Brusasco V, Meinertz T, Rosenkranz S. What can we learn from pulmonary function testing in heart failure? Eur J Heart Fail. 2017;19(10):1222-1229. doi:10.1002/ejhf.946 ↩︎
Heidorn MW, Steck S, Müller F, et al. FEV1 Predicts Cardiac Status and Outcome in Chronic Heart Failure. CHEST. 2022;161(1):179-189. doi:10.1016/j.chest.2021.07.2176 ↩︎
Magnussen H, Canepa M, Zambito PE, Brusasco V, Meinertz T, Rosenkranz S. What can we learn from pulmonary function testing in heart failure? Eur J Heart Fail. 2017;19(10):1222-1229. doi:10.1002/ejhf.946 ↩︎
Written by
Tré LaRosa
Tré LaRosa is a consultant, scientist, and writer in the Washington, DC area with extensive experience working in research (basic, translational, and clinical) and on patient-reported outcomes. He has also written extensively on neuroscience, pulmonology, and respiratory conditions, including from the patient perspective. He enjoys learning, reading, writing, spending time outdoors, and telling everybody about his mini golden retriever, Duncan.
