Normal regional right ventricular function and its change with age: A Doppler myocardial imaging study

Background: Doppler Myocardial Imaging (DMI) is a new technique currently b eing studied for the assessment of regional systolic and diastolic left ven tricular (LV) function. No normal values or data on age-related changes in regional myocardial right ventricular (RV) velocities are available. Methods and Results: Color DMI was used in 32 healthy volunteers (aged 16-7 6 years) to derive regional velocities from basal, medial, and apical segme nts of the RV free wall in the apical 4-chamber view, and from distal segme nts as well as from the tricuspid annulus in the parasternal long-axis view . Both mitral annular and regional LV velocities (4-chamber, long-axis para sternal view) were also recorded and compared with corresponding RV regiona l velocities. The hi-mode displacement of the cardiac base was measured. Co rresponding RV and LV DMI data sets were compared. For longitudinal functio n, RV free wall systolic velocities were consistently higher than velocitie s recorded in corresponding LV segments (analysis of variance, P < .05). Ol der subjects (40-76 years; 13 men, 2 women) had lower RV long-axis regional velocities than younger subjects (16-39 years; 15 men, 2 women), but had h igher short-axis RV systolic velocities. For diastolic velocities, a negati ve correlation between age and the ratio of regional early diastolic to lat e diastolic velocity was shown for all RV free wall segments (eg, basal seg ment: r= -0.63, P<.0001). Conclusions: The right ventricle has higher long-axis regional velocities, a greater excursion of its lateral atrioventricular valve ring, and reduced circumferential shortening velocities compared with the left ventricle. Ri ght ventricular longitudinal shortening is dominant over short-axis functio n in healthy young subjects. Normal age-related changes of diastolic veloci ties for each segment of the normal RV free wall have been defined.