Usefulness of a New Transthoracic Echocardiography Score to Assess Right Ventricular Volumes in Patients with Repaired Tetralogy of Fallot.

Quantification of right ventricular (RV) volumes is essential in the follow-up of patients with a repaired tetralogy of Fallot (TOF). Cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is the gold standard for RV assessment. However, given its cost and availability, the systematic use of MRI for serial longitudinal follow-up is limited.

Clinical outcomes after primary prevention defibrillator implantation are better predicted when the left ventricular ejection fraction is assessed by cardiovascular magnetic resonance.

Background: The left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) is the key selection criterion for an implanted cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) in primary prevention of sudden cardiac death. LVEF is usually assessed by two-dimensional echocardiography, but cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging is increasingly used. The aim of our study was to evaluate whether LVEF assessment using CMR imaging (CMR-LVEF) or two-dimensional echocardiography (2D echo-LVEF) may predict differently the occurrence of clinical outcomes.