A new study published in the Journal of Cardiovascular Ultrasound revealed a new parameter linked to right ventricular function as a good prognostic tool for pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH).

Researchers at The Cleveland Clinic Foundation and the Northwestern Memorial Hospital in the United States, and the Chungnam National University Hospital in Korea, assessed Right ventricular global longitudinal strain (RVGLS) in PAH patients and evaluated its prognostic significance. In total, 51 PAH patients were analyzed through echocardiography.

The research team concluded that RVGLS had a significant correlation with echocardiographic parameters linked to right ventricular function, and that a RVGLS equal or higher than -15.5% was significantly associated with adverse clinical events in PAH patients, including death.