[Influence of disturbed lung hemodynamics on the early bronchial obstruction in mitral disease (author's transl)].

32 subjects affected with mitral stenosis were investigated. All the subjects were nonsmokers, and none had any histories of lung disease. Mean pulmonary artery pressure (PAp) and mean wedge pressure (Pc) were obtained by right catherization and compared with a number of sensitive tests for the detection of incipient bronchial obstruction: dynamic and static lung compliance (CLdyn, CLstat); maximal expiratory flows at 50% and 25% (MEF50%, MEF25%) of the forced vital capacity (FVC): closing volume (CV); airway resistance (RAW), and residual volume (RV). It was established that most sensitive tests for the detection of bronchial obstruction, i.e. the difference between CLdyn and CLstat due to the reduction of CLdyn and the decrease of the instantaneous flows at 50% and 25% FVC, are in very good correlation with the changes in lung hemodynamics. The most significant correlations exist between Pc and CLdyn (r = 0.527), between PAp and RAW (r = 0.554) and between PAp and MEF50% (r = 0.320). CV and RV were not significantly correlated with PAp and Pc.