Role of the right ventricle in heart failure with preserved ejection fraction

Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction represents an emerging pandemic and one of the most relevant causes of admission in the elderly population. The hemodynamic and prognostic role of the right ventricular function in this population has been recently investigated and a position statement on behalf of the Heart Failure Association of the European Society of Cardiology has been published to guide physicians to perform a multiparametric evaluation of right ventricular morphology and function. In this brief review we summarize the role of the right ventricle and pulmonary pressure in heart failure with preserved ejection fraction, focusing on hemodynamic and clinical characteristics that identify high-risk patients with poor prognosis.