Introduction
The right ventricle (RV) has a significant role in morbidity and mortality of cardiac diseases, but due to its complex anatomy, evaluation of RV function is not so easy and has always been a challenge in echocardiography. In the latest ”Recommendations For Cardiac Chamber Quantification”1 , measurement of at least one of the following indices: Fractional area change (FAC), the peak systolic velocity of lateral tricuspid annulus wave by tissue Doppler imaging (S’), Tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion (TAPSE), and RV index of myocardial performance (RIMP) has been recommended. Measurement of TAPSE is a practical and straight forward method reflecting longitudinal RV function. Although this parameter is load dependent, multiple studies have shown its utility in various clinical situations such as pulmonary embolism2,3, pulmonary hypertension2, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease3 and post cardiac surgery 4.
TAPSE measures the longitudinal movement of the tricuspid annulus during systole, but we think measuring the velocity of this excursion utilizing ”TAPSE-slope” may add to its value. TAPSE less than 17 mm is associated with RV systolic dysfunction; nevertheless, categorizing RV systolic dysfunction as mild, moderate, and severe based on TAPSE measure is not mentioned in the available guidelines and nor is it routinely performed in clinical practice. In this study, we measured normal values of ”TAPSE-slope”. As this was a new index, we also calculated the inter-observer variability of TAPSE-t measurements.