EDITORIALS
Assessment of right ventricular function
Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, UK
Correspondence to:
Dr L Williams, Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B15 2TT UK; L.K.Williams@bham.ac.uk
| The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below. |
The right ventricle has traditionally received less consideration than the left ventricle. In recent years this interest has increased with the recognition of the critical role of right ventricular performance in determining the clinical outcome and decision-making in patients with both clinical heart failure and congenital heart disease. In this issue of Heart, Missant et al1 (see online only article on p e15) propose a non-invasive method for assessment of RV contractility that is less load-dependent than currently used techniques and that correlates with invasive pressure–volume assessment of RV function.
The right ventricle is a structurally and functionally complex chamber, with a shape less amenable to geometric simplification for the purpose of volume estimation than the left ventricle, and a heavily trabeculated endocardial surface. In addition, its substernal position makes echocardiographic assessment of its size and function difficult. When assessing RV function, it is necessary to bear in
CiteULike 
Complore 
Connotea 
Del.icio.us 
Digg 
Reddit 
Technorati What's this?
Relevant Article
- Load-sensitivity of regional tissue deformation in the right ventricle: isovolumic versus ejection-phase indices of contractility
- C Missant, S Rex, P Claus, L Mertens, and P F Wouters
Heart 2008 94: e15.[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
- Full Text
- Full Text (PDF)
- Submit a response
- Alert me when this article is cited
- Alert me when eLetters are posted
- Alert me if a correction is posted
- Citation Map
Services
- Email this link to a friend
- Similar articles in this journal
- Similar articles in PubMed
- Add article to my folders
- Download to citation manager
- Request Permissions
Citing Articles
Google Scholar
PubMed
Topic Collections
-
Drugs: cardiovascular system
-
Echocardiography
-
Clinical diagnostic tests
- Congenital heart disease
- Relevant Article
Bookmark with
Register for free content
The full back archive is now available for all BMJ Journals. Institutional subscribers may access the entire archive as part of their subscription. Personal subscribers will also have access to all content when logged in. Non-subscribers who register have free access to all articles published before 2006 right back to volume 1 issue 1. Register here to access the free archive of all BMJ Journals.
Don't forget to sign up for content alerts so you keep up to date with all the articles as they are published.
