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Author Spotlight: Investigating the Underlying Mechanisms of Right Ventricular Failure in Pulmonary Hypertension
Published on: June 14, 2024
Advancing knowledge of right ventricular pathophysiology in chronic pressure overload: Insights from experimental
Julien Guihaire1, Pierre Emmanuel Noly2, Sonja Schrepfer3
1Laboratory of Surgical Research, Marie-Lannelongue Hospital, Paris Sud University, 92350 Le Plessis Robinson, France; Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, University Hospital of Rennes, 35033 Rennes, France.
Abstract:
The right ventricle (RV) has to face major changes in loading conditions due to cardiovascular diseases and pulmonary vascular disorders. Clinical experience supports evidence that the RV better compensates for volume than for pressure overload, and for chronic than for acute changes. For a long time, right ventricular (RV) pathophysiology has been restricted to patterns extrapolated from left heart studies. However, the two ventricles are anatomically, haemodynamically and functionally distinct. RV metabolic properties may also result in a different behaviour in response to pathological conditions compared with the left ventricle. In this review, current knowledge of RV pathophysiology is reported in the setting of chronic pressure overload, including recent experimental findings and emerging concepts. After a time-varying compensated period with preserved cardiac output despite overload conditions, RV failure finally occurs, leading to death. The underlying mechanisms involved in the transition from compensatory hypertrophy to maladaptive remodelling are not completely understood.
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