Subclinical Right Ventricular Dysfunction by Strain Analysis

The peculiar shape of the right ventricle (RV), its position within the chest, and the thinness of its free wall have always represented a formidable challenge for the assessment of RV size and function by conventional 2-dimensional echocardiography. Over time, a large number of 2D echocardiography and Doppler parameters have been proposed to describe RV geometry and function. However, most of them are limited by geometric assumptions about RV shape, load dependency, or suboptimal reproducibility, resulting in a limited contribution of conventional echocardiography to the understanding of the role played by the RV in many clinical conditions.