Editorial P 43 Prognostic Significance and Normal Values of 2d Strain to Assess Right Ventricular Systolic Function in Chronic Heart Failure

hronic heart failure (CHF) is an inexorably progressive condition that is ultimately fatal in the absence of cardiac transplantation. The identification of pre-dictors of cardiac events in patients with CHF would help to optimize treatment decisions. Given the increasing prevalence of CHF, a method of accurately predicting cardiac events and suitable for use in everyday clinical practice is urgently needed. The right ventricle (RV) is pivotal in maintaining hemody-namic stability and an adequate cardiac output and recent studies point to a crucial role for RV systolic function in the course of several cardiovascular diseases. 1,2 Over the past few years, RV systolic function has been proven in many studies to influence the prognosis of patients with CHF. 3–5 Imaging studies that can be used to assess RV systolic function include echocardiography, angiography, radionuclide ventriculography, and magnetic resonance imaging. 1,2 Of these, echocardiography is the most readily available and the most widely used in everyday clinical practice. Consequently, the identification of a simple echocardiographic parameter that reliably predicts outcomes in CHF would be of considerable interest. In several studies, selective systolic motion or con-tractility of the tricuspid annulus measured by M-mode echo-cardiography 4,6,7 or tissue Doppler imaging (TDI) were found to hold prognostic significance. 8,9 Recently, 2D imaging of myocardial deformation, or strain, was found useful for assessing left ventricle (LV) function. 10 Angle-independent 2D strain imaging is now available on echocardiography systems and has been shown to reliably reflect RV function. Whether myo-C Background: Normal values and the prognostic significance of right ventricle (RV)-2D strain in chronic heart failure (CHF) patients are unknown.