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Morphological and Functional Assessment of the Right Ventricle Using 3D Echocardiography
07:11

Morphological and Functional Assessment of the Right Ventricle Using 3D Echocardiography

Published on: October 28, 2020

Echocardiographic assessment of right ventricular obstruction in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy

Masatoshi Shimizu1, Hiroya Kawai, Yoshiyuki Yokota

  • 1Division of Cardiovascular and Respiratory Medicine, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, Japan. simizum@nkh.hosp.go.jp

Circulation Journal : Official Journal of the Japanese Circulation Society
|October 28, 2003
PubMed

Insights

Echocardiography identified right ventricular obstruction in 14% of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy patients, often co-occurring with left ventricular obstruction. This imaging technique effectively evaluated obstruction sites and characteristics.

Area of Science:

  • Cardiology
  • Medical Imaging

Background:

  • Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is a genetic heart disease characterized by abnormal thickening of the heart muscle.
  • Right ventricular (RV) involvement in HCM, though less studied than left ventricular (LV) issues, can significantly impact patient outcomes.
  • Understanding the prevalence and characteristics of RV obstruction is crucial for comprehensive HCM management.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate the incidence, flow dynamics, and morphological features of RV obstruction in patients with HCM.
  • To determine the correlation between RV obstruction and LV obstruction in this patient cohort.
  • To assess the utility of echocardiography in identifying and characterizing RV obstruction in HCM.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized echocardiography, including color flow mapping and continuous wave Doppler, in 91 patients with HCM.
  • Measured ventricular wall thickness to assess hypertrophy extent.
  • Defined obstruction based on flow velocity (<2.0 m/s) and Doppler waveform characteristics.

Main Results:

  • Right ventricular obstruction was identified in 14 patients (15.4%).
  • Six of these patients (43%) also exhibited left ventricular obstruction.
  • RV obstructions were located in the outflow tract (9), mid-base septal bulge (2), and apical trabecular region (3).
  • Doppler flow patterns varied, with some persisting into early diastole.

Conclusions:

  • Echocardiography is a valuable tool for evaluating RV obstruction in HCM.
  • RV obstruction is a significant finding in HCM patients, frequently associated with LV obstruction.
  • Morphological characteristics and flow dynamics of RV obstruction can be effectively assessed using echocardiography.

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