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Right ventricular dysfunction in systemic hypertension: A call to action

2016; Elsevier BV; Volume: 206; Linguagem: Inglês

10.1016/j.ijcard.2016.01.049

1874-1754

Kamilu M. Karaye, Aimé Bonny,

Cardiovascular Function and Risk Factors

The earliest description of the importance of right ventricular (RV) function was by Sir William Harvey in 1616, who opined that it was made “for the sake of transmitting blood through the lungs and not for nourishing them” [ 1 Harvey W. Exercitatio Anatomica de Motu Cordis et Sanguinis in Animalibus. 1628 Crossref Google Scholar , 2 Goldstein J. The right ventricle: what's right and what's wrong. Coron. Artery Dis. 2005; 16: 1-3 Crossref Scopus (12) Google Scholar ]. Perhaps as a consequence, the RV continued to be grossly undervalued for many years and considered to function mainly as a conduit, while its contractile performance was considered hemodynamically unimportant. Since the early 1950s however, the relevance of the chamber in the maintenance of normal cardiac physiology was recognized in several cardiovascular disorders [ [3] Haddad F. Doyle R. Murphy D.J. Hunt S.A. Right ventricular function in cardiovascular disease, part II: pathophysiology, clinical importance, and management of right ventricular failure. Circulation. 2008; 117: 1717-1731 Crossref PubMed Scopus (1025) Google Scholar ]. Unfortunately, studies on RV dysfunction among hypertensive patients are still few with several limitations, and information on outcome is lacking [ 4 Myslinski W. Mosiecwicz J. Ryczak E. Barud W. Biłan A. Palusinski R. et al. Right ventricular function in systemic hypertension. J. Hum. Hypertens. 1998; 12: 149-155 Crossref PubMed Scopus (31) Google Scholar , 5 Tumuklu M.M. Erkorkmaz U. Ocal A. The impact of hypertension and hypertension-related left ventricle hypertrophy on right ventricle function. Echocardiography. 2007; 24: 374-384 Crossref PubMed Scopus (60) Google Scholar ]. This article aimed to review some key studies on RV dysfunction in hypertension, in order to make a case for starting a large multicentre longitudinal study to assess RV dysfunction in hypertension, the possibility of its reverse remodeling and potential outcomes.