Right ventricular function assessed by two-dimensional strain and tissue Doppler echocardiography in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension and effect of vasodilator therapy.
Two-dimensional strain echocardiography is a new method for the assessment of regional contractility. Thirty-seven patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (mean age 56.4 +/- 11 years) and 38 normal subjects (mean age 58.3 +/- 12 years) underwent 2-dimensional echocardiography and tissue Doppler echocardiographic evaluation of right ventricular (RV) global function and regional contractility. Patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension additionally underwent 6-minute walking distance tests and right-sided cardiac catheterization before and after (8 +/- 3 months) vasodilator therapy. Moderate or severe RV dysfunction was present in all patients (2-dimensional strain of the basal segment of the RV free wall: -8.8 +/- 4.1% systolic longitudinal deformation) compared with normal subjects (-24.3 +/- 4.7% systolic longitudinal deformation, p < 0.001) and was improved with vasodilator therapy after 6 to 11 months (-13.3 +/- 6.2% systolic longitudinal deformation, p < 0.001).
Borges
Adrian C
AC
Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany. andrian.borges@charite.de
Knebel
Fabian
F
Eddicks
Stephan
S
Panda
Alexander
A
Schattke
Sebastian
S
Witt
Christian
C
Baumann
Gert
G
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D006328:Cardiac Catheterization; D015150:Echocardiography, Doppler; D005080:Exercise Test; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D006976:Hypertension, Pulmonary / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009200:Myocardial Contraction / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D011379:Prognosis; D011669:Pulmonary Wedge Pressure / Q000502:physiology; D014665:Vasodilator Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016278:Ventricular Function, Right / Q000502:physiology*
D014665:Vasodilator Agents