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Updated: Oct 8, 2026
Morphological and Functional Assessment of the Right Ventricle Using 3D Echocardiography
Published on: October 28, 2020
[Usefulness of right ventricular Doppler index for predicting outcome in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy]
1Second Department of Internal Medicine, Sapporo Medical University School of Medicine, S-1, W-16, Chuo-ku, Sapporo 060-0061.
Insights
The right ventricular Doppler index (RVDI) can predict long-term cardiac events in dilated cardiomyopathy patients. Higher RVDI values are associated with increased risk of cardiac death and other adverse events.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Echocardiography
- Heart Failure Research
Background:
- Left ventricular Doppler index (LVDI) assesses ventricular function, but the utility of right ventricular Doppler index (RVDI) in dilated cardiomyopathy is unclear.
- Predictive value of RVDI for long-term cardiac events in this population requires investigation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the predictive value of RVDI for long-term cardiac events in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy.
- To assess the correlation between RVDI and LVDI in this patient group.
Main Methods:
- Fifty-nine dilated cardiomyopathy patients (41 males, 18 females, mean age 52±15 years) were followed.
- RVDI and LVDI calculated using: DI = (isovolumic contraction time + isovolumic relaxation time)/ejection time.
Main Results:
- During 3.7±3.0 years follow-up, 46% of patients experienced cardiac events (death, heart failure, tachyarrhythmias).
- Patients with cardiac events had higher initial LVDI and RVDI.
- RVDI > or = 0.49 independently predicted cardiac events (p=0.0153) and cardiac death (p=0.0003).
Conclusions:
- RVDI is a clinically valuable echocardiographic index for predicting outcomes in dilated cardiomyopathy.
- RVDI can aid in risk stratification and management of patients with dilated cardiomyopathy.
Objectives:
Left ventricular Doppler index (LVDI) is believed to be a useful echocardiographic index of systolic and diastolic ventricular function. However, the usefulness of right ventricular Doppler index (RVDI) remains uncertain, especially in dilated cardiomyopathy. The predictive value of RVDI for estimating long-term cardiac events, including cardiac death, was investigated.
Methods:
Fifty-nine consecutive patients with dilated cardiomyopathy (41 males and 18 females, mean age 52 +/- 15 years) were enrolled in this follow-up study. RVDI and LVDI were calculated as follows: DI = (isovolumic contraction time + isovolumic relaxation time)/ejection time.
Results:
During a follow-up period of 3.7 +/- 3.0 years, 27 (46%) of the patients exhibited cardiac events, including cardiac death (n = 9), heart failure (n = 16) and tachyarrhythmias (n = 2) requiring in-hospital treatment. Patients with these cardiac events had higher LVDI and RVDI at the initial follow-up examination, and RVDI had a significant linear correlation with LVDI (LVDI = 0.550 + 0.452 x RVDI, r = 0.530, p = 0.0001). The 6-year survival rate was significantly lower in patients with both LVDI > or = 0.78 and RVDI > or = 0.49 than in other patients (50% vs 75%, respectively, p = 0.009). Cox proportional hazards model analysis showed that RVDI > or = 0.49 was the independent predictor of cardiac events (p = 0.0153) and cardiac death (p = 0.0003).
Conclusions:
RVDI is clinically useful for estimating the outcome of patients with dilated cardiomyopathy.
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