[Two-dimensional echocardiographic evaluation of the right ventricular wall in hypertension and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy].

The thickness and motion of the right ventricular wall (RVW) were studied with two-dimensional echocardiography from a subxiphoid approach in 20 normal subjects (N Group), 86 patients with hypertension (HT Group) and 20 patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM Group). Comparison was made between the patients with and without echocardiographic RVW hypertrophy in each patient group in regard to the thickness of the interventricular septum (IVS) and the left ventricular posterior wall (LVPW) as well as the motion of the RVW and cardiac catheterization data. 1. RVW hypertrophy was visualized in 39.5% of the HT Group and in 40% of the HCM Group. There was no difference in the thickness of RVW between the two groups. 2. A localized hypertrophy and an abnormal motion of RVW were obtained in the HCM Group, but not in the HT Group. 3. RVW hypertrophy in the HT Group was seen in patients with marked IVS hypertrophy, while that in the HCM Group was not related to IVS hypertrophy. 4. Pulmonary arterial pressure remained normal in each group. Therefore, RVW hypertrophy did not appear to be the result of pressure overload. 5. Right atrial mean pressure and right ventricular end-diastolic pressure were elevated only in HCM patients with RVW hypertrophy. We conclude that there is a different mechanism in the mode of production of RVW hypertrophy between patients with hypertension and those with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.