Evaluating Right Ventricular Function Using Longitudinal Displacement

Background and Objectives: The right ventricle has a complex, asymmetrical shape, making accurate imaging and functional assessment by echocardiography challenging. Various methods have been proposed for evaluating right ventricular function, each one with its limitations. This study introduces a new method for assessing global and regional right ventricular function using longitudinal displacement. Materials and Methods: We studied 21 healthy young individuals who underwent echocardiographic examinations at our hospital for screening purposes. Speckle-tracking echocardiography was used to analyze their echocardiographic images and measure the longitudinal displacement of the right ventricle. Results: Our findings show that longitudinal displacement is highest in the basal segments and lowest in the apical segments of the right ventricle, demonstrating a "reversed basal-to-apical gradient". Longitudinal strain, on the other hand, was found to be highest at the apex and lowest at the base. We observed a strong correlation between longitudinal displacement and tricuspid annulus plane excursion (TAPSE), with an agreement of 89.47%. Longitudinal displacement over the right ventricle free wall was significantly higher than that over the septum. There was a good agreement between the manual and automatic measurements of right ventricular strain. Conclusions: Longitudinal displacement of the right ventricle can be reliably measured using speckle-tracking-echocardiography. This original measurement provides a "true" assessment of displacement at each right ventricular segment without postprocessing. Unlike TAPSE, which measures tricuspid annular motion, longitudinal segmental displacement offers comprehensive data on all segments at each level and can serve as an additional tool for assessing right ventricular function. The manual assessment of right ventricular strain provides a practical option in appropriate clinical settings.