Forgotten No More: A Focused Update on the Right Ventricle in Cardiovascular Disease

In the last decade, there has been renewed interest in the study of the right ventricle. It is now well established that right ventricular function is a strong predictor of mortality, not only in heart failure but also in pulmonary hypertension, congenital heart disease, and cardiothoracic surgery. The right ventricle is part of a cardiopulmonary unit with connections to the pulmonary circulation, venous return, atria, and left ventricle. In this context, ventriculoarterial coupling, interventricular interactions, and pericardial constraint become important to understand right ventricular adaptation to injury or abnormal loading conditions. This state-of-the-art review summarizes major advances that occurred in the field of right ventricular research over the last decade. The first section focuses on right ventricular physiology and pulmonary circulation. The second section discusses the emerging data on right ventricular phenotyping, highlighting the importance of myocardial deformation (strain) imaging and assessment of end-systolic dimensions. The third section reviews recent clinical trials involving patients at risk for or with established right ventricular failure, focusing on beta blockade, phosphodiesterase inhibition, and mechanical support of the failing right heart. The final section presents a perspective on active areas of research that are most likely to translate in clinical practice in the next decade.