Medical and surgical treatment of acute right ventricular failure

Acute right ventricular (RV) failure is a frequent and serious clinical challenge in the intensive care unit. It is usually seen as a consequence of left ventricular failure, pulmonary embolism, pulmonary hypertension, sepsis, acute lung injury or after cardiothoracic surgery. The presence of acute RV failure not only carries substantial morbidity and mortality, but also complicates the use of commonly used treatment strategies in critically ill patients. In contrast to the left ventricle, the RV remains relatively understudied, and investigations of the treatment of isolated RV failure are rare and usually limited to nonrandomized observations. We searched PubMed for papers in the English language by using the search words right ventricle, right ventricular failure, pulmonary hypertension, sepsis, shock, acute lung injury, cardiothoracic surgery, mechanical ventilation, vasopressors, inotropes, and pulmonary vasodilators. These were used in various combinations. We read the abstracts of the relevant titles to confirm their relevance, and the full papers were then extracted. References from extracted papers were checked for any additional relevant papers. This review summarizes the general measures, ventilation strategies, vasoactive substances, and surgical as well as mechanical approaches that are currently used or actively investigated in the treatment of the acutely failing RV.

The management of acute pulmonary arterial hypertension

Acute pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), which may complicate the course of many complex disorders, is always underdiagnosed and its treatment frequently begins only after serious complications have developed. Acute PAH is distinctive because they differ in their clinical presentation, diagnostic findings, and response to treatment from chronic PAH. The acute PAH may take either the form of acute onset of chronic PAH or acute PAH or surgery-related PAH. Significant pathophysiologic differences existed between acute and chronic PAH. Therapy of acute PAH should generally be aimed at acutely relieving right ventricular (RV) pressure overload and preventing RV dysfunction. There are three classes of drugs targeting the correction of abnormalities in endothelial dysfunction, which have been approved recently for the treatment of PAH: (1) prostanoids; (2) endothelin receptor antagonists; and (3) phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitors. The efficacy and safety of these compounds have been confirmed in uncontrolled studies in patients with PAH. Intravenous epoprostenol is suggested to serve as the first-line treatment for the most severe patients. In the other situations, the first-line therapy may include bosentan, sildenafil, or a prostacyclin analogue. Recent advances in the management of PAH have markedly improved prognosis.