An echocardiogram, which is probably what your doc ordered, is often given to determine whether the right heart wall is showing signs of thickening, which often happens in people with COPD, especially those whose O2 saturation levels regularly fall below 88%. Going without sufficient O2 for significant periods of time results in right heart failure, and an echo can give a doc an idea of whether this is a problem. It's not definitive; the definitive test is a right heart catheterization that will tell you exactly whether right heart failure is part of the problem.

Jean

Patsy, copd make you breath harder than normal. Your heart is a mussel. Like all mussels the harder you worker it the bigger it becomes. I have a grossly enlarged heart due to COPD. It's just part of the game. I hope you are O.K.

I have the right sided heart failure and pulmonary hypertension and I have the echos ever year or 2

Since 2001 but i also have had lung cancer twice. Im still here and kicking . I was told in 2007 first cancer surgery that i have a 1 in 6 survival rate. My surgeon did not give up on me bc of my mind set and i still feel i can conquer living with this disease.

I am sorry how long have you had COPD?