Assessment of the right ventricular function before and after coronary artery bypass surgery by conventional and tissue Doppler echocardiography

Aim of the work To study the extent of right ventricular (RV) dysfunction in ischemic patients after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). Patients and methods RV function was studied preoperatively and followed for 1 month postoperatively in 40 patients who were scheduled for elective coronary artery bypass surgery and in other 40 controls. We evaluated RV function by tissue Doppler study of the tricuspid annulus and the basal septum, tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion, and RV dimensions. Both LV dimensions, left atrium dimensions, and aortic root dimensions were also measured before and after surgery. Results RV function was significantly reduced after CABG as assessed by pulsed-wave tissue Doppler imaging in both the tricuspid annulus and the basal septum. There was also a significant reduction of tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion after CABG, but there was no significant difference in RV dimensions. Moreover, LVEDD was significantly reduced after CABG. Conclusion RV systolic function was reduced after CABG and remained depressed for 1 month postoperatively