Strain Analysis of the Right Ventricle Using Two-dimensional Echocardiography

Right ventricular (RV) systolic dysfunction has been identified as an independent prognostic marker of many cardiovascular diseases. However, there are problems in measuring RV systolic function objectively and identification of RV dysfunction using conventional echocardiography. Strain echocardiography is a new imaging modality to measure myocardial deformation. It can measure intrinsic myocardial function and has been used to measure regional and global left ventricular (LV) function. Although the RV has different morphologic characteristics than the LV, strain analysis of the RV is feasible. After strain echocardiography was introduced to measure RV systolic function, it became more popular and was incorporated into recent echocardiographic guidelines. Recent studies showed that RV global longitudinal strain (RVGLS) can be used as an objective index of RV systolic function with prognostic significance. In this review, we discuss RVGLS measurement, normal reference values, and the clinical importance of RVGLS.