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Updated: May 9, 2026

Comprehensive Echocardiographic Assessment of Right Ventricle Function in a Rat Model of Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension
Published on: January 20, 2023
The effect of cilostazol on right heart function and pulmonary pressure
Muslum Sahin1, Elnur Alizade, Selcuk Pala
1Department of Cardiology, Kartal Kosuyolu High Speciality Education and Research Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey.
Introduction:
Cilostazol is a PDE3 inhibitor and used to treat peripheral arterial disease. There are few reports on the influence of cilostazol on heart.
Aims:
The aim of this study was to assess this effect on right ventricular function and pulmonary artery pressure.
Methods:
Forty patients with normal left and right ventricular ejection fraction and mild or moderate pulmonary artery hypertension were enrolled in the study. Right ventricular function was assessed by tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion (TAPSE), fractional area change (FAC), tissue Doppler imaging (TDI), and two-dimensional speckle-tracking echocardiography (2D-STE) before and after oral administration of cilostazol. Also pulmonary artery pressure assessed before and after administration of cilostazol.
Results:
After cilostazol administration, there were significant increases in the TAPSE (1.9 ± 0.3 cm vs. 2.2 ± 0.3 cm, P < 0.001). Peak longitudinal strain (-18.7 ± 4.5% vs. -21.3 ± 3.7%, P = 0.001), isovolumetric acceleration (IVA) (176.6 ± 62.7 cm/sec(2) vs. 200.6 ± 61.9 cm/sec(2) , P = 0.025), right ventricular FAC increased significantly (37.6 ± 8.0% vs. 41.5 ± 8.9%, P < 0.001). Pulmonary artery pressure decreased significantly (39.9 ± 7.9 vs. 36.6 ± 5.5 mmHg, P = 0.001) after cilostazol administration.
Conclusion:
Our study demonstrated that cilostazol improved right ventricular systolic function and reduced pulmonary artery pressure.
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