Echocardiographic assessment of the right ventricular function in acute myocardial infarction

Background: Assessment of the right chamber function has not given much importance; this could be due to complex structure, asymmetric shape, and difficulty in visualization, and resulted in poor understanding of the impact of the right ventricular (RV) function on prognosis. Echocardiography commonly used and most readily available investigation modality for the assessment of the right ventricular function. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to evaluate the relation between RV function and left ventricle (LV) dysfunction and Killip class in acute myocardial infarction (AMI) exclusive of RV infarction. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A total of 21 consecutive patients admitted to the coronary care unit with AMI were included and echocardiography was performed within 24 h of admission to assess RV and LV functions. RV function was quantified with a tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion (TAPSE), RV fractional area change (RVFAC), RV longitudinal strain, RV myocardial performance index (RVMPI), and compared with the LV ejection fraction and Killip class. Results: Statistical analysis revealed that the majority of patients were male (90.5%) and only 9.5% of patients were female with a mean age of 50.9 years. Anterior wall MI was more common (58%) than inferior wall MI (42%). The study findings revealed that the RV longitudinal strain had a significant negative correlation (r2 = 0.803, P = 0.001) with Killip class and LV ejection fraction, whereas TAPSE, RVMPI, and RVFAC were poorly correlated with RV dysfunction. Conclusion: From the study findings, we concluded that echocardiographic assessment of RV functions demonstrated that larger infarcts correlated with RV dysfunction. RV involvement was more pronounced in anterior MI than inferior MI. Hence, the earliest recognition of RV dysfunction is warranted. Keywords: Acute myocardial infarction, echocardiograph, right ventricular function.