Relationship of clot burden and echocardiographic severity of right ventricular dysfunction after acute pulmonary embolism
Rodrigues AC., Guimaraes L., Guimaraes JF., Monaco C., Cordovil A., Lira E., Vieira ML., Fischer CH., Nomura C., Morhy S.
© 2014, Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht. The impact of pulmonary embolism on right ventricular (RV) performance can be evaluated by echocardiography, however, the relationship between pulmonary vascular involvement and RV burden is controversial. To assess the effect of clot burden on RV performance we studied 85 patients (aged 53 ± 17 years, 39 female) with confirmed PE by multislice computed tomography (CT) and echocardiography within 24 h of diagnosis. A CT score ranging from 1 to 20 points according to the pulmonary arteries involved was used. RV function was evaluated with fractional area change (FAC), with dysfunction present when FAC