A study of the respiratory and systolic functions of the right ventricle on Doppler echo in 90 young men with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), with a median age of 27.5 years and a median vital capacity of 10% of theoretical, showed :
- right ventricular systolic impairment in 46 (51%);
- the presence of left ventricular damage increases the risk of developing right heart failure over the course of the disease;
- of the thirteen patients (14.4%) who developed a cardiac problem, 11 had right ventricular systolic damage (acute heart failure in seven of them, cardiogenic shock in three and supraventricular arrhythmia in one);
- the increased risk of cardiac problems was independent of the existence of left ventricular dysfunction and the use of mechanical ventilation.
The authors conclude that it is important to monitor right ventricular function in DMD, particularly in cases of left ventricular involvement, in order to adapt treatment as effectively as possible.
