Echocardiographic assessment of right heart function in heart transplant recipients and the relation to exercise...

This study aimed to characterize right heart function in heart transplantation (HTx) patients using advanced echocardiographic assessment and simultaneous right heart catheterization (RHC). Comprehensive two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) echocardiographic assessment of right heart function was performed in 105 subjects (64 stable HTx patients and 41 healthy controls). RHC was performed at rest and during semi-supine maximal exercise test. Compared with controls, in conclusion, HTx patients had impaired right ventricle (RV) systolic function in terms of decreased RV-free wall (FW) global longitudinal strain (GLS) (-20 ± 5% vs. -28 ± 5%, P < 0.0001) and 3D-ejection fraction (EF) (50 ± 8% vs. 60 ± 6%, P < 0.0001). In HTx patients, echocardiographic RV systolic function was significantly correlated with NYHA-class (3D-RVEF: r = -0.62, P < 0.0001; RV-FW-GLS: r = -0.41, P = 0.0009) and cardiac allograft vasculopathy (3D-RVEF: r = -0.42, P = 0.0005; RV-FW-GLS: r = -0.25, P = 0.0444). RHC demonstrated a good correlation between invasively assessed resting RV-stroke volume index and exercise capacity (r = 0.58, P < 0.0001) and NYHA-class (r = -0.41, P = 0.0009). RV systolic function is reduced in HTx patients compared with controls. 3D RVEF and 2D longitudinal deformation analyses are associated with clinical performance in stable HTx patients and seem suitable in noninvasive routine right heart function evaluation after HTx. Invasively assessed RV systolic reserve was strongly associated with exercise capacity.