[Right heart function based on 2-dimensional echocardiographic data in heart failure patients]

The right atrium and right ventricle were examined by contrast echocardiography. The function of the right chambers was evaluated by determining the changes in the heart cavity section areas while using echocardiography during different phases of the cardiac cycle. The patients with primary pulmonary hypertension and mitral valve disease and healthy subjects were examined. It was typical of the patients with mitral valve disease to have a marked decrease in the functional parameters of the right atrial fibrillation and diminished right ventricular function indices. The indices of the functional state of the right ventricle in the patients with primary pulmonary hypertension changed to a less extent despite the fact that they had a more pronounced dilatation of the right ventricle than those with mitral valve disease.