A 64-year-old woman presents with dependent peripheral edema in her ankles and feet. She has long-standing chronic obstructive lung disease and a long history of cigarette smoking. Further investigation reveals that she has cor pulmonale with right-sided heart failure. Which of the following is the most likely cause of the right-sided heart failure in this patient?
A. Constrictive pericarditis
B. Disease of the lungs or pulmonary vessels
C. Left-sided heart failure
D. Pulmonary infundibular or valvular stenosis
E. Systemic hypertension