Right ventricular systolic function in heart failure: A long story but still the same question

摘要

Over recent decades, several studies have clearly demonstrated the important role of the right ventricle (RV) in the pathophysiology of different cardiac and pulmonary diseases. Heart failure is a severe chronic disease [1,2] and risk stratification of patients is an important step in their management. Right ventricular (RV) systolic function is a key determinant of prognosis in patients with left ventricular systolic dysfunction [3-5]. The RV has a complex geometry, making it hard to analyse its contractility. Since the mid 1990s, several studies have analysed different methods from right heart catheterization to magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to accurately determine RV ejection fraction (RVEF). However, in 2016, we are still looking for the most practical parameter of RV systolic function.