Prevalence and clinical characteristics of right ventricular dysfunction in transient stress cardiomyopathy

Transient stress cardiomyopathy (TSC) is a cause of reversible left ventricular (LV) dysfunction that is increasingly recognized. Reports to date have focused primarily on LV involvement, with little attention paid to associated right ventricular (RV) dysfunction. With other forms of LV dysfunction, RV involvement has been shown to confer an adverse prognosis. Prevalence, clinical characteristics, and short-term prognosis of RV dysfunction in TSC remain ill-defined. Presenting echocardiograms of 40 patients with TSC were reviewed. RV function was assessed by evaluating regional wall motion and calculating a wall motion score index (WMSI). RV dysfunction was defined as a WMSI >1.0. Clinical and demographic characteristics of patients with and without RV dysfunction were compared. RV dysfunction was identified in 27% of patients (11 of 40). RV WMSI was 1.20 +/- 0.30 for the entire cohort compared with 1.72 +/- 0.30 for those with RV dysfunction (p <0.05). In each case with RV dysfunction, regional wall motion abnormalities involved the apex and spared the base. Patients with RV dysfunction had higher B-type natriuretic peptide levels, higher pulmonary artery systolic pressures, and longer hospital stays. RV dimensions, clinical characteristics, electrocardiographic findings, other biomarkers, and in-hospital complications were similar. In conclusion, RV wall motion abnormalities, predominantly involving the apex and sparing the base, occur in slightly >1/4 of cases of TSC. Although associated with higher B-type natriuretic peptide levels, higher pulmonary artery systolic pressures, and longer hospital stays, RV dysfunction was not associated with significant differences in short-term cardiac morbidity or increased early mortality.