Right ventricular performance in congenital heart disease: a physiologic and pathophysiologic perspective

Underappreciated is the fact that the right ventricle is often the primary determinant of long-term morbidity and mortality in patients with congenital heart disease. Right ventricular performance in these patients depends on a unique set of physiologic and pathophysiologic factors that are rarely considered in acquired heart disease. This article explores this unique physiology and pathophysiology in the hope that it will enhance understanding of a wide variety of congenital cardiac anomalies.