Right ventricular performance in chronic air flow obstruction.
Right ventricular pump performances were assessed in 14 patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease by means of radionuclide angiocardiography using krypton-81m as a tracer. Right ventricular ejection fraction (RVEF) was significantly lower in the patients than in normal volunteers. Additionally there was a striking difference in RVEF between patients with normal pulmonary artery pressure (PAP) and those with pathologically elevated PAP. A linear negative correlation between RVEF and mean PAP could be demonstrated. From this data we suggest that radionuclide angiocardiography using krypton-81m allows non invasive assessment of right heart afterload and thus indirectly PAP.
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000790:Angiocardiography; D006321:Heart / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006352:Heart Ventricles / Q000503:physiopathology; D006439:Hemodynamics; D006801:Humans; D006976:Hypertension, Pulmonary / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D007726:Krypton; D008173:Lung Diseases, Obstructive / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D011669:Pulmonary Wedge Pressure; D011868:Radioisotopes; D011875:Radionuclide Angiography; D013318:Stroke Volume
D011868:Radioisotopes; D007726:Krypton