A report by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality also found the death rate from chronic pulmonary heart disease in 2005 was 4.4 percent -- two times higher than the overall death rate for all hospital patients of 2.2 percent. Hospitalizations for pulmonary heart disease cost $5.6 billion in 2005, the report said.

The report also said women accounted for six out of every 10 hospital stays of patients with pulmonary heart disease.

A stay for a patient with chronic pulmonary heart disease averaged $12,400 compared to $8,100 -- the overall average cost of a hospital stay.

Pulmonary heart disease can cause shortness of breath, fatigue, chest pain, dizzy spells and fainting. Most patients have an underlying heart or lung disorder.