Evaluation of Echocardiographic Right Ventricular Deformation Parameters in Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Introduction: This study aimed to evaluate patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) who did not have clinical signs of right ventricular (RV) failure using two-dimensional speckle-tracking of RV geometry and functions at rest in comparison to healthy subjects. Patients and Methods: The study population comprised 28 patients with COPD and 24 healthy subjects with similar demographic characteristics who were followed up at the Department of Chest Diseases of Kafkas University in 2014. Results: Conventional echocardiographic parameters, except for mean pulmonary artery pressure, RV free wall thickness, and RV free wall strain parameters, were similar between the groups. RV free wall strain parameters in the COPD group, including RV free wall basal, mid, and apical strain values, were significantly lower than those in the control group (p< 0.05 for each comparison). A statistically significant negative correlation was observed between the mean pulmonary artery pressure and the RV free wall basal, mid, and apical strain values. Conclusion: We concluded that RV strain parameters may be superior to conventional echocardiographic methods for assessing RV dysfunction prior to clinically evident RV failure