Echocardiography in the assessment of right heart function
1 Departments of Clinical Physiology, Umeå University Hospital, Sweden
2 Cardiology Heart Centre, Umeå University Hospital, Sweden
3 Public Health and Clinical Medicine, Umeå University, Umeå University Hospital, Sweden
Received 5 December 2006; accepted after revision 28 April 2007; online publish-ahead-of-print 25 June 2007.
* Corresponding author. Tel: +46 90 785 1965; fax: +46 90 137633. E-mail address: per.lindqvist{at}medicin.umu.se (P. Lindqvist).
| Abstract |
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Assessment of right heart function remains difficult despite rapid technological echocardiographic developments. This review addresses the anatomical and physiological basis for assessment of right ventricular function. It also addresses advantages and limitations of individual echocardiographic techniques currently used in clinical and academic practice. The review concludes that volume calculation and estimation of ejection fraction is not ideal for clinical assessment of right ventricular function. Regional myocardial wall motion detection by M-mode and tissue Doppler velocities are probably the best useful methods in clinical practice. 1D and 2D strain, velocity vector imaging and 4D echocardiography need further evaluation before considering them as routine investigations. A global interest needs to be given to a very important neglected entity, right ventricle, which has been shown to predict exercise tolerance and outcome in a number of syndromes.
Keywords: Right ventricle; Doppler tissue imaging; Strain echocardiography; Speckle tracking echocardiography
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