Right ventricular systolic function in hypertensive heart failure

• Published in: Vascular health and risk management Vol. 13; pp. 353 - 360
• Main Authors: Oketona, O A, Balogun, M O, Akintomide, A O, Ajayi, O E, Adebayo, R A, Mene-Afejuku, T O, Oketona, O T, Bamikole, O J
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New Zealand Dove Medical Press Limited 01-01-2017; Taylor & Francis Ltd; Dove Medical Press
• Subjects: Aged; Beta blockers; Blood pressure; Cardiovascular disease; Care and treatment; Case-Control Studies; Complications and side effects; Cross-Sectional Studies; Development and progression; Echocardiography; Echocardiography, Doppler; Electrocardiography; Female; Health care; Heart failure; Heart Failure - diagnosis; Heart Failure - epidemiology; Heart Failure - physiopathology; Humans; Hypertension; Hypertension - diagnostic imaging; Hypertension - epidemiology; Hypertension - physiopathology; Male; Medical examination; Medical prognosis; Medicine; Methods; Middle Aged; Morphology; Nigeria - epidemiology; Original Research; Prevalence; Prognosis; Right heart ventricle; Right ventricle; RV MPI; RV S; Stroke Volume; Systole; systolic function; TAPSE; Teaching hospitals; Ultrasonic imaging; Ventricular Dysfunction, Right - diagnosis; Ventricular Dysfunction, Right - epidemiology; Ventricular Dysfunction, Right - physiopathology; Ventricular Function, Left; Ventricular Function, Right; New York; Nigeria; United States > US; Africa; hypertensive heart failure; RV S; systolic function; RV MPI; TAPSE; right ventricle
• ISSN: 1178-2048; 1176-6344; 1178-2048
• DOI: 10.2147/VHRM.S142429

Heart failure (HF) is a major cause of cardiovascular admissions and hypertensive heart failure (HHF) is the most common cause of HF admissions in sub-Saharan Africa, Nigeria inclusive. Right ventricular (RV) dysfunction is being increasingly recognized in HF and found to be an independent predictor of adverse outcomes in HF. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of RV systolic dysfunction in HHF by several echocardiographic parameters.
One hundred subjects with HHF were recruited consecutively into the study along with 50 age and sex-matched controls. All study participants gave written informed consent, and had a full physical examination, blood investigations, 12-lead electrocardiogram, and transthoracic echocardiography. RV systolic function was assessed in all subjects using different methods based on the American Society of Echocardiography guidelines for echocardiographic assessment of the right heart in adults. This included tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion (TAPSE), RV myocardial performance index (MPI), and RV systolic excursion velocity by tissue Doppler (S').
RV systolic dysfunction was found in 53% of subjects with HHF by TAPSE, 56% by RV MPI, and 48% by tissue Doppler systolic excursion S'. RV systolic dysfunction increased with reducing left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) in subjects with HHF.
A high proportion of subjects with HHF were found to have RV systolic functional abnormalities using TAPSE, RV MPI, and RV S'. Prevalence of RV systolic dysfunction increased with reducing LVEF.