[Right ventricle in arterial hypertension]

Left ventricular hypertrophy is the best known and most evident cardiac organ manifestation of arterial hypertension. However, only limited findings are available on function and structure of the right ventricle. The published studies show that the right ventricle is also affected in the course of hypertensive heart disease. Particularly hypertrophy of the right ventricular free wall, impaired right ventricular diastolic filling, elevated right ventricular filling pressure as well as impairment of right ventricular ejection fraction in the late phase of arterial hypertension were reported. Possible causes of these structural and functional changes of the right ventricle are (1) translation of the increased left ventricular filling pressure in the pulmonary circulation, (2) interaction of the right and left ventricle, and (3) systemic circulation of cytokines and growth hormones such as angiotensin II, aldosterone, and others.