Afterload dependence of right ventricular myocardial deformation: A comparison between tetralogy of Fallot and atrially corrected transposition of the great arteries in adult patients

Abstract

BackgroundPrior studies suggested that myocardial deformation is superior to conventional measures for assessing ventricular function. This study aimed to evaluate right ventricular (RV) myocardial deformation in response to increased afterload. Patients with the RV in the systemic position were compared with patients with the RV in the sub-pulmonic position with normal or only slightly elevated systolic right ventricular pressure. Correlations between global longitudinal strain (GLS), radial strain, atrioventricular plane displacement (AVPD), and exercise capacity were evaluated.Methods44 patients with congenital heart defect were enrolled in the study. The control group consisted of seven healthy volunteers. All patients underwent cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) and cardiopulmonary exercise testing. We assessed biventricular myocardial function using CMR based feature tracking and compared the results to anatomic volumes.ResultsStrain analysis and displacement measurements were feasible in all participants. RVGLS and RVAVPD were reduced in both study groups compared to the control group (p<0.001). Left ventricular (LV) radial strain was significantly lower in patients with a systemic RV than in those with a subpulmonic RV and lower than in controls (p<0.001). Both LVAVPD and RVAVPD were significantly depressed in patients compared to controls (p<0.05). RVAVPD was more depressed in patients with a high systolic RV pressure than in those with normal RV pressure (p<0.001). RVAVPD did not correlate with exercise capacity in either study group. Exercise capacity in both patient groups was depressed to levels reported in previous studies, and did not correlate with RVGLS.ConclusionsBoth study groups had abnormal myocardial deformation and increased RV volumes. RVGLS in patients was lower than in controls, confirming the effect of increased afterload on myocardial performance.

Ex vivo cardiovascular magnetic resonance diffusion weighted imaging in congenital heart disease, an insight into the microstructures of tetralogy of Fallot, biventricular and univentricular systemic right ventricle

“…We observed that septal sheets are opposing adjacent sheets in the anterior and posterior wall. The opposite sign of the E2A between TOF and D-TGA may come from the difference of E2A in the septal bulging between TOF and D-TGA without VSD caused by the difference of ventricular pressure [ 39 ]. The difference of the E2A between myocardial segments may result from the hemodynamic change due to case-specific anatomic, vascular and post-surgical characteristics.…”