Echocardiographic Right Ventricular Wall Tension Indicates Disease Severity in Children with Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension

Abstract

Background: Recently, simplified echocardiographic RV wall tension (RVWTe), defined as the product of tricuspid regurgitation (TR) pressure gradient (TRPG) and end-diastolic base-to-apex length, was identified as an echocardiographic predictor of altered invasive RV hemodynamics in adults with PH. RVWTe was increased early in the disease process and associated with all-cause mortality at ∼5-year follow-up, while TAPSE, RV fractional area change, TRPG (calculated from TR velocity), and TAPSE/TR velocity ratio were not.