A new assessment method for right ventricular diastolic function using right heart catheterization by pressure-volume loop

Diastolic stiffness coefficient (beta) and end-diastolic elastance (Eed) are ventricular-specific diastolic parameters. However, the diastolic function of right ventricle had not been investigated sufficiently due to the lack of established evaluation method. We evaluated the validity of these parameters calculated using only data of right heart catheterization (RHC) and assessed it in patients with restrictive cardiomyopathy (RCM) and cardiac amyloidosis. We retrospectively analyzed 46 patients with heart failure who underwent RHC within 10 days of cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR). Right ventricular end-diastolic volume and end-systolic volume were calculated using only RHC data, which were found to be finely correlated with those obtained from CMR. beta and Eed calculated by this method were also significantly correlated with those derived from conventional method using CMR. By this method, beta and Eed were significantly higher in RCM with amyloidosis group than dilated cardiomyopathy group. In addition, the beta and Eed calculated by our method were finely correlated with E/A ratio on echocardiography. We established an easy method to estimate beta and Eed of right ventricle from only RHC. The method finely demonstrated right ventricular diastolic dysfunction in patients with RCM and amyloidosis.