Prognostic significance of right ventricular diastolic function in thalassaemia major

While left ventricular (LV) restrictive filling pattern is an ominous echocardiographic finding in thalassaemia major (TM), the prognostic significance of right ventricular (RV) diastolic function in patients with TM has not been thoroughly investigated. We studied 45 TM asymptomatic transfusion-dependent patients with normal LV systolic function by Doppler echocardiography. The 15-year cumulative survival rate was 34% in patients with RV restrictive filling pattern (RFP) and 82% in patients with RV non-RFP (log-rank = 10.41, p = 0.0013). Doppler estimation of RV filling pattern is very important in evaluating the prognosis of TM patients and should be performed routinely and using a standardised followup protocol.