title: Right ventricular function relates to functional capacity in men with atrial fibrillation and preserved left ventricular ejection fraction.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  While left ventricular (LV) diastolic function (E/e') is related to functional capacity in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF), the underlying mechanism is unclear. Right ventricular (RV) function is related to prognosis in various diseases, however, its relationship with LV diastolic function is not well-studied. We sought to examine the reliability of echocardiographic indices of RV function in AF, the relationship between LV diastolic function and RV function, and the relationship between RV function and 6MWT distance in ambulatory patients with AF.
  
  
  METHODS
  We designed a retrospective study evaluating 52 veterans with AF and preserved LV ejection fraction (LVEF) who underwent echocardiography and 6MWT at scheduled visits throughout 1 year. We performed pairwise correlation to evaluate reproducibility of echocardiographic indices of RV function measured 1 week apart. Multiple regression was used to assess the association of indices of RV function to LV diastolic function and functional capacity.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Most RV function indices had good to excellent correlation between 2 visits 1 week apart (coefficient 0.50-0.81) with test-retest variations of <6%, except for tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion (TAPSE), which had a significant variation in 9%. TAPSE, RV S' and RV e' were significantly related to LV diastolic function after adjusting for RV systolic pressure. After further adjustment for comorbidities, only RV S' and RV e' remained significantly related to 6MWT.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  RV tissue Doppler measurements (S' and e') had good reproducibility and were independently related to LV diastolic function and 6MWT in men with AF and preserved LVEF.
authors: Vascular Research Laboratory, Providence VA Medical Center, Providence, Rhode Island 02908, USA.
authors: Scott
authors: S
authors: Cohen
authors: Sainath
authors: S
authors: Gaddam
authors: Anthony
authors: A
authors: Gemignani
authors: Wen-Chih
authors: WC
authors: Wu
authors: Satish
authors: S
authors: Sharma
authors: Gaurav
authors: G
authors: Choudhary
mesh_terms: D000222:Adaptation, Physiological / Q000502:physiology; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001281:Atrial Fibrillation / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000503:physiopathology; D001795:Blood Pressure Determination; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003971:Diastole / Q000502:physiology; D015150:Echocardiography, Doppler / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013318:Stroke Volume / Q000502:physiology*; D013599:Systole / Q000502:physiology; D016277:Ventricular Function, Left / Q000502:physiology; D016278:Ventricular Function, Right / Q000502:physiology*