[Right heart failure : important forold and young patientsA challenge from the acute to the chronic]

The prevalence of the right heart failure (RHF) is poorly known. However, RHF is often a consequence of left heart failure due to an interdependance between both ventricles. RHF should be indentified because of prognostic relevance. RHF is defined by the inability to maintain adequate cardiac output through the lung circulation. It can result from volume overload, pressure overload, or a disorder of systolic function. Adaptive mechanisms such as dilation or hyper-trophy will maintain adequate hemodynamics. Once these mechanisms become insufficient, congestive signs and hemodynamic consequences will appear. Diagnosis is based on echocardiography. The treatment of RHF is similar to left heart failure. In case of acute RHF, treatment depends of the etiology of RHF. Optimization of the volemia is a central objective of therapeutics.