ABSTRACT
Interest in the right ventricle (RV) has waxed and waned over the years. At one time it was even considered unnecessary for cardiac function because ablation of the free wall appeared to be well tolerated by experimental animals without reduction in cardiac output.1 Interest in quantifying RV function surged briefly during the 1980s when thrombolytic therapy for treatment of acute myocardial infarction was under intense international study to prove that coronary reperfusion reduces mortality by salvaging ischemic myocardium. Attention turned away from the RV after recognition of its resilience to even prolonged coronary occlusion, even though RV function has a significant impact on prognosis independent of the left ventricle (LV).2,3 Indeed more recent studies are demonstrating for a variety of cardiac conditions that the RV merits evaluation due to the impact of RV dysfunction on prognosis.4,5
This chapter reviews the measurement of RV volume, function, and shape in the context of this chamber’s anatomic structure.
