Pulmonary fibrosis can have a significant impact on the heart.

How would you characterize the pathology seen here and what is its etiology?

Compare it to the the heart in the aortic stenosis case from lab 1, as well as a normal heart. How do they differ?

The heart on the left shows significant right ventricular hypertrophy, brought on by increased vascular pressure in the lung. Either pulmonary hypertension or pulmonary fibrosis can cause the compensatory hypertrophy. Pulmonary hypertension ultimately leads to right sided heart failure (cor pulmonale). Cor pulmonale ultimately causes venous stasis and peripheral edema. In contrast, aortic stenosis causes left ventricular hypertrophy.