1 RIGHT AND LEFT VENTRICULAR ADAPTATION TO HYPOXIA: A TISSUE DOPPLER IMAGING STUDY.

Hypoxia has been reported to alter left ventricular (LV) diastolic function, but associated changes in right ventricular (RV) systolic and diastolic function remain incompletely documented. We used echocardiography and tissue Doppler imaging to investigate the effects on RV and LV function of 90 min of hypoxic breathing (fraction of inspired O2 of 0.12) compared to those of dobutamine to reproduce the same heart rate effects without change in pulmonary vascular tone, in 25 healthy volunteers. Hypoxia and dobutamine increased cardiac output and tricuspid regurgitation velocity. Hypoxia and dobutamine increased LV ejection fraction, isovolumic contraction wave velocity (ICV), acceleration (ICA) and systolic ejection wave velocity (S) at the mitral annulus, indicating increased LV systolic function. Dobutamine had similar effects on RV indices of systolic function. Hypoxia did not change RV area shortening fraction, tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion, ICV, ICA and S at the tricuspid annulus. Regional longitudinal wall motion analysis revealed that S, systolic strain and strain rate were not affected by hypoxia and increased by dobutamine on the RV free wall and interventricular septum, but increased by both dobutamine and hypoxia on the LV lateral wall. Hypoxia increased the isovolumi