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Updated: Aug 11, 2026

Morphological and Functional Assessment of the Right Ventricle Using 3D Echocardiography
Published on: October 28, 2020
The influence of sex on right ventricular dysfunction in patients with severely depressed left ventricular ejection
Manuel Martínez-Sellés1, Marta Domínguez Muñoa, Esther Martínez
1Cardiology Department. Hospital Universitario Gregorio Marañón, Dr. Esquerdo, 46. 28007 Madrid, Spain. mmselles@secardiologia.es
Aim:
To assess the influence of sex on right ventricular dysfunction (RVD) in patients with severe left ventricular systolic dysfunction.
Methods And Results:
We studied 385 consecutive patients with left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) <0.35. All patients underwent invasive measurement of right ventricular and pulmonary artery pressures and evaluation of RVD by standard transthoracic echocardiography. Female patients (n=84, 21.8%) were significantly older than male patients (62.0+/-11.4 vs. 58.2+/-10.7 years), p=0.005. The prevalence of RVD was lower in women (26.5%) than in men (38.9%), p=0.03; both in patients with and without coronary artery disease (19.4% vs. 34.5% and 31.9% vs. 44.4%, respectively). Haemodynamic parameters and LVEF were similar in men and women. Low LVEF, pulmonary systolic pressure, degree of mitral regurgitation, male sex, and absence of significant coronary artery disease were independently correlated with RVD.
Conclusion:
Women with severe left ventricular systolic dysfunction have less RVD than men, despite similar haemodynamic parameters and LVEF.
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