Multimodality Evaluation of the Right Ventricle: An Updated Review

Abstract

The assessment of the volumes, function, and mechanics of the right ventricle (RV) is very challenging because of the anatomical complexity of the RV. Because RV structure, function, and deformation are very important predictors of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in patients with heart failure, pulmonary hypertension, congenital heart disease, or arrhythmogenic RV cardiomyopathy, it is of great importance to use an appropriate imaging modality that will provide all necessary information. In everyday clinical practice, 2-dimensional echocardiography (2DE) represents a method of first choice in RV evaluation. However, cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) remained the gold standard for RV assessment. The development of new imaging tools, such as 3-dimensional echocardiography (3DE), provided reliable data, comparable with CMR, and opened a completely new era in RV imaging. So far, 3DE has shown good results in determination of RV volumes and systolic function, and there are indications that it will also provide valuable data about 3-dimensional RV mechanics, similar to CMR. Two-dimensional echocardiography-derived strain is currently widely used for the assessment of RV deformation, which has been proven to be a more significant predictor of functional capacity and survival than CMR-derived RV ejection fraction. The purpose of this review is to summarize currently available data about RV structure, function, and mechanics obtained by different imaging modalities, primarily 2DE and 3DE, and their comparison with CMR and cardiac computed tomography.