Right ventricular performance in chronic air flow obstruction

Right ventricular pump performances were assessed in 14 patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease by means of radionuclide angiocardiography using krypton-81m as a tracer. Right ventricular ejection fraction (RVEF) was significantly lower in the patients than in normal volunteers. Additionally there was a striking difference in RVEF between patients with normal pulmonary artery pressure (PAP) and those with pathologically elevated PAP. A linear negative correlation between RVEF and mean PAP could be demonstrated. From this data we suggest that radionuclide angiocardiography using krypton-81m allows non invasive assessment of right heart afterload and thus indirectly PAP.