Radionuclide measurement of right ventricular function in atrial septal defect, ventricular septal defect and complete transposition of the great arteries

Right ventricular (RV) function was assessed in 80 patients with congenital heart disease by first-pass and gated equilibrium radionuclide angiography. In 30 patients with a ventricular septal defect (VSD) the mean RV ejection fraction (± standard deviation) was 64 ± 7%. In 30 patients with a secundum atrial septal defect it was 61 ± 9% and in 20 patients with surgically corrected complete transposition of the great arteries it was 49 ± 13%. These values are in close agreement with values established with cineangiography for similar groups of patients. The mean ejection fraction in the group with transposition of the great arteries was significantly less than in the group with VSD (p < 0.001). Phase analysis of the equilibrium studies showed that there was delayed RV contraction in many patients in the absence of conduction abnormalities. This delay was significantly greater in patients with atrial septal defect than in those with VSD (p < 0.05). There was a strong correlation between size of left-to-right shunt and phase delay in patients with VSD (r = −0.72). Thus, first-pass gated radionuclide angiography provides a valid measurement of RV ejection fraction, and delayed RV contraction on phase analysis may be a sensitive index of early RV dysfunction.