The impact of right ventricular function on the heart failure prognosis and survival in cardiac surgery

Authors: Averina I.I., Mironenko M.Yu., Glushko L.A., Troshin D.S., Donakanyan S.A.

Company: Bakoulev National Medical Research Center for Cardiovascular Surgery, Moscow, Russian Federation

For correspondence:  Sign in or register.

Type:  Reviews


DOI: https://doi.org/10.24022/1997-3187-2025-19-1-35-44

For citation: Averina I.I., Mironenko M.Yu., Glushko L.A., Troshin D.S., Donakanyan S.A. The impact of right ventricular function on the heart failure prognosis and survival in cardiac surgery. Creative Cardiology. 2025; 19 (1): 35–44 (in Russ.). DOI: 10.24022/1997- 3187-2025-19-1-35-44

Received / Accepted:  20.02.2025 / 10.03.2025

Keywords: right ventricular failure biventricular heart failure right ventricular function cardiac surgery prognosis



Subscribe 🔒

 

Abstract

Acute right ventricular failure is a complex clinical syndrome, a transition point to terminal heart failure (HF), often occurs after cardiac surgery, determining an worse prognosis. The pathological cascade leads to increased venous congestion in the systemic circulation, progression of biventricular HF, decreased quality of life, increased hospitalization and mortality. Dysfunction of the right ventricle (RV) after cardiac surgery has its own characteristics. The evolution of RV function

indices is presented: from measuring global and free wall RV strain, tricuspid annulus motion amplitude (TAPSE) to indices reflecting the relationship – dependence of RV function on the state of the pulmonary circulation (increased pulmonary artery pressure). Increasing patient survival after cardiac surgery requires not only a deep understanding of the pathophysiology of biventricular failure, organ dysfunction, but also the ability to stratify patients at high risk of death and HF progression using new indices.

Future research should be aimed at developing new treatment approaches given the complexity of RV hemodynamics and the lack of randomized trials with convincing evidence of treatment efficacy.

References

  1. Bootsma I.T., de Lange F., Koopmans M., Haenen J., Boonstra P.W., Symersky T. et al. Right ventricular function after cardiac surgery is a strong independent predictor for long-term mortality. J. Cardiothorac. Vasc. Anesth. 2017; 31 (5): 165–166. DOI: 10.1053/j.jvca.2017.02.008
  2. Golukhova E.Z., Slivneva I.V., Skopin I.I., Farulova I.Yu., Pirushkina Yu.D., Murysova D.V. et al. Right ventricular dysfunction as a predictor of complicated course in left heart surgery. Russian Journal of Cardiology. 2023; 28 (6): 5264 (in Russ.). DOI: 10.15829/1560-4071-2023-5264
  3. Sabirov B.N., Samsonov V.B., Danilov T.Yu., Saliev O.B., Zemlyanskaya I.V., Minaev A.V., Podzolkov V.P. Tricuspid valve replacement in patients with congenital heart disease: long-term results. Grudnaya i Serdechno-Sosudistaya Khirurgiya. 2022; 64 (4): 378–387 (in Russ.). DOI: 10.24022/0236-2791-2022-64-4-378-387
  4. Rubtsov P.P., Le T.G., Semenova L.D., Bockeria L.A. Ebstein’s anomaly: clinical consequences of supraventricular arrhythmias in right ventricular failure after surgery under artificial blood circulation. Annaly Aritmologii. 2024; 21 (1): 4–8 (in Russ.). DOI: 10.15275/annaritmol.2024.1.1
  5. Alshibaya M.D. Peri-operative heart failure during cardiac surgery in adult patients. The Bulletin of Bakoulev Center. Cardiovascular Diseases. 2021; 22 (3): 339–351 (in Russ.). DOI: 10.24022/1810-0694-2021-22-3-339-351
  6. Sokol’skaya N.O., Kopylova N.S., Ivanov A.V., Kokshenev I.V. Anatomy and function of the right ventricle. Etiology, pathogenesis and modern aspects of echocardiographic evaluation of right ventricular failure. Clinical Physiology of Circulation. 2020; 17 (4): 266–283 (in Russ.). DOI: 10.24022/1814-6910-2020-17-4-266-283
  7. Cameli M., Sparla S., Focardi M., Righini F.M., Solari M., Alvino F. et al. Evaluation of right ventricular function in the management of patients referred for left ventricular assist device therapy. Transplant. Proc. 2015; 47 (7): 2166–2168. DOI: 10.1016/j.transproceed.2015.02.032
  8. Levy D., Laghlam D., Estagnasie P., Brusset A., Squara P., Nguyen L.S. Post-operative right ventricular failure after cardiac surgery: a cohort study. Front. Cardiovasc. Med. 2021; 8: 667328. DOI: 10.3389/fcvm.2021.667328
  9. Estrada V.H., Franco D.L., Moreno A.A., Gambasica J.A., Nunez C.C. Postoperative right ventricular failure in cardiac surgery. Cardiol. Res. 2016; 7 (6): 185–195. DOI: 10.14740/cr500e
  10. Boissier F., Katsahian S., Razazi K., Thille A.W., Roche-Campo F., Leon R. et al. Prevalence and prognosis of cor pulmonale during protective ventilation for acute respiratory distress syndrome. Intensive Care Med. 2013; 39 (10): 1717–1725. DOI: 10.1007/s00134-013-2993-7
  11. Harjola V.P., Mebazaa A., Čelutkienė J., Bettex D., Bueno H., Chioncel O. et al. Contemporary management of acute right ventricular failure: a statement from the Heart Failure Association and the Working Group on Pulmonary Circulation and Right Ventricular Function of the European Society of Cardiology. Eur. J. Heart Fail. 2016; 18 (3): 226–241. DOI: 10.1002/ejhf.478
  12. Winterhalter M., Antoniou T., Loukanov T. Management of adult patients with perioperative pulmonary hypertension: technical aspects and therapeutic options. Cardiology. 2010; 116 (1): 3–9. DOI: 10.1159/000313863
  13. Itagaki S., Hosseinian L., Varghese R. Right ventricular failure after cardiac surgery: management strategies. Semin. Thorac. Cardiovasc. Surg. 2012; 24 (3): 188–194. DOI: 10.1053/j.semtcvs.2012.08.001
  14. Dagenais F., Pelletier L.C., Carrier M. Antegrade/retrograde cardioplegia for valve replacement: a prospective study. Ann. Thorac. Surg. 1999; 68 (5): 1681–1685. DOI: 10.1016/s0003-4975(99)00837-1
  15. Mandoli G.E., Cameli M., Novo G., Agricola E., Righini F.M., Santoro C. et al. Working Group of Echocardiography of the Italian Society of Cardiology. Right ventricular function after cardiac surgery: the diagnostic and prognostic role of echocardiography. Heart Fail. Rev. 2019; 24(5): 625–635. DOI: 10.1007/s10741-019-09785-2
  16. Honkonen E.L., Kaukinen L., Pehkonen E.J., Kaukinen S. Right ventricle is protected better by warm continuous than by cold intermittent retrograde blood cardioplegia in patients with obstructed right coronary artery. Thorac. Cardiovasc. Surg. 1997; 45 (4): 182–189. DOI: 10.1055/s-2007-1013720
  17. Haddad F., Couture P., Tousignant C., Denault A.Y. The right ventricle in cardiac surgery, a perioperative perspective: I. Anatomy, physiology, and assessment. Anesth. Analg. 2009; 108 (2): 407–421. DOI: 10.1213/ane.0b013e31818f8623
  18. Amato M.B., Meade M.O., Slutsky A.S., Brochard L., Costa E.L., Schoenfeld D.A. et al. Driving pressure and survival in the acute respiratory distress syndrome. N. Engl. J. Med. 2015; 372 (8): 747–755. DOI: 10.1056/NEJMsa1410639
  19. Guinot P.G., Abou-Arab O., Longrois D., Dupont H. Right ventricular systolic dysfunction and vena cava dilatation precede alteration of renal function in adult patients undergoing cardiac surgery: an observational study. Eur. J. Anaesthesiol. 2015; 32 (8): 535–542. DOI: 10.1097/ EJA.0000000000000149
  20. Buckberg G.D. Solving the mysteries of heart disease: life-saving answers ignored by the medical establishment. Health House Press; 2019.
  21. Galiè N., Humbert M., Vachiery J.L., Gibbs S., Lang I., Torbicki A. et al. ESC Scientific Document Group. 2015 ESC/ERS Guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of pulmonary hypertension: the joint task force for the diagnosis and treatment of pulmonary hypertension of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) and the European Respiratory Society (ERS): endorsed by: Association for European Paediatric and Congenital Cardiology (AEPC), International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation (ISHLT). Eur. Heart J. 2016; 37 (1): 67–119. DOI: 10.1093/eurheartj/ehv317
  22. Vella A., Labate V., Carenini G., Alfonzetti E., Milani V., Bandera F. et al. Phenotyping congestion in acute heart failure by renal flow and right heart to pulmonary circulation coupling. ESC Heart Fail. 2023; 10 (6): 3546–3558. DOI: 10.1002/ehf2.14522
  23. Keren M.A., Sigaev I.Yu., Osipova A.I., Volkovskaya I.V., Zavalikhina T.V., Avakova S.A., Yakhyaeva K.B., Marapov D.I., Merzlyakov V.Yu. Impact of chronic kidney disease on type of coronary artery bypass grafting and on the structure of postoperative complications in patients with coronary artery disease. Grudnaya i Serdechno-Sosudistaya Khirurgiya. 2023; 65 (4): 414–423 (in Russ.). DOI: 10.24022/0236-2791-2023-65-4-414-423
  24. Schneider M., Aschauer S., Mascherbauer J., Ran H., Binder C., Lang I. et al. Echocardiographic assessment of right ventricular function: current clinical practice. Int. J. Cardiovasc. Imaging. 2019; 35 (1): 4–56. DOI: 10.1007/s10554-018-1428-8
  25. Gigorro G.R., Carreño R.E., Mayordomo S. Evaluation of right ventricular function after cardiac surgery: the importance of tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion and right ventricular ejection fraction. J. Thorac. Cardiovasc. Surg. 2016; 152 (2): 613–620. DOI: 10.1016/j. jtcvs.2016.04.041
  26. Gorter T.M., Hoendermis E.S., van Veldhuisen D.J., Voors A.A., Lam C.S., Geelhoed B. et al. Right ventricular dysfunction in heart failure with preserved ejection fraction: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Eur. J. Heart Fail. 2016; 18 (12): 1472–1487. DOI: 10.1002/ejhf.630
  27. Singh I., Rahaghi F.N., Naeije R., Oliveira R.K.F., Vanderpool R.R., Waxman A.B., Systrom D.M. Dynamic right ventricular-pulmonary arterial uncoupling during maximum incremental exercise in exercise pulmonary hypertension and pulmonary arterial hypertension. Pulm. Circ. 2019; 9 (3): 2045894019862435. DOI: 10.1177/2045894019862435
  28. Green E.M., Givertz M.M. Management of acute right ventricular failure in the intensive care unit. Curr. Heart Fail. Rep. 2012; 9 (3): 228–235. DOI: 10.1007/s11897-012-0104-x
  29. Ghio S., Guazzi M., Scardovi A.B., Klersy C., Clemenza F., Carluccio E. et al. Different correlates but similar prognostic implications for right ventricular dysfunction in heart failure patients with reduced or preserved ejection fraction. Eur. J. Heart Fail. 2017; 19 (7): 873–879. DOI: 10.1002/ejhf.664
  30. Mandoli G.E., Pastore M.C., Benfari G., Setti M., Nistor D., D'Ascenzi F. et al. New echocardiographic indices of shift to biventricular failure to optimize risk stratification of chronic heart failure. ESC Heart Fail. 2022; 9 (1): 476–485. DOI: 10.1002/ehf2.13722
  31. Iacoviello M., Monitillo F., Citarelli G., Leone M., Grande D., Antoncecchi V. et al. Right ventriculo-arterial coupling assessed by two- dimensional strain: A new parameter of right ventricular function independently associated with prognosis in chronic heart failure patients. Int. J. Cardiol. 2017; 241: 318–321. DOI: 10.1016/j.ijcard.2017.04.051
  32. Adamo M., Chioncel O., Pagnesi M., Bayes-Genis A., Abdelhamid M., Anker S.D. et al. Epidemiology, pathophysiology, diagnosis and management of chronic right-sided heart failure and tricuspid regurgitation. A clinical consensus statement of the Heart Failure Association (HFA) and the European Association of Percutaneous Cardiovascular Interventions (EAPCI) of the ESC. Eur. J. Heart Fail. 2024; 26 (1): 18–36. DOI: 10.1002/ejhf.3106
  33. Kholdani C.A., Fares W.H. Management of Right Heart Failure in the Intensive Care Unit. Clin. Chest. Med. 2015; 36 (3): 511–520. DOI: 10.1016/j.ccm.2015.05.015
  34. Nikitin E.S., Yudin P.V., Makrushin I.M., Titov M.M. Treatment of right ventricular failure in the immediate postoperative period in older children with congenital heart defects undergoing open heart surgery. Clinical Physiology of Circulation. 2019; 16 (1): 36–44 (in Russ.). DOI: 10.24022/1814-6910-2019-16-1-36-44
  35. Lyapina I.N., Dren E.V., Kuzmina O.K., Osintsev E.S., Stasev A.N., Evtushenko A.V., Barbarash O.L. Ten-year dynamics of the phenotype of patients undergoing surgical correction of valvular heart diseases: results of a single-center registry. Grudnaya i Serdechno-Sosudistaya Khirurgiya. 2024; 66 (3): 302–310 (in Russ.). DOI: 10.24022/0236-2791-2024-66-3-302-310
  36. Kazumyan B.V., Babenko S.I., Titov D.A., Muratov R.M. Risk factors and causes of late recurrence of tricuspid regurgitation after suture and band annuloplasty. Grudnaya i Serdechno-Sosudistaya Khirurgiya. 2023; 65 (4): 391–401 (in Russ.). DOI: 10.24022/0236-2791-2023-65-4-391-401

About Authors

  • Irina I. Averina, Dr. Med. Sci., Senior Researcher, Сardiologist; ORCID
  • Marina Yu. Mironenko, Cand. Med. Sci., Head of Department; ORCID
  • Lyudmila A. Glushko, Cand. Med. Sci., Head of the Lung Sampling and Gas Exchange Monitoring Group; ORCID
  • Dmitriy S. Troshin, Postgraduate, Сardiologist; ORCID
  • Sergey A. Donakanyan, Dr. Med. Sci., Professor, Head of Department; ORCID

Chief Editor

Elena Z. Golukhova, MD, PhD, DSc, Professor, Academician of Russian Academy of Sciences, Director of Bakoulev National Medical Research Center for Cardiovascular Surgery


Sort by