Feasibility of right ventricular free wall longitudinal strain assessment of contractile reserve in patients undergoing lung resection

Abstract

Lung cancer is the second most common cancer in the UK; though lung resection is potentially curative, it results in a burden of postoperative dyspnoea and functional limitation. Previous work by our group demonstrated right ventricular (RV) function impairment at day 2 and 2 months after lung resection.1 During exercise, the normal physiological response is an increase in RV function termed RV contractile reserve (CR). Previous studies have suggested that RV-CR is impaired postoperatively and additionally associated with increased cardiopulmonary complications postoperatively2 (although their methodologies have since been challenged). RV free-wall longitudinal strain (RVFWLS) can identify subtle RV dysfunction and may therefore be a superior method of RV assessment. We examined the feasibility of RVFWLS assessment of RV-CR in patients before and after lung resection.