Emergency Department Assessment of Right Ventricular Function and Size in the Post Cardiac Arrest Patient

The right side of the heart of often overlooked in patients who are acutely unwell, as the main area of focus when performing echocardiography tends to be the left ventricle. The right ventricle can yield important diagnostic clues that can aid the clinician, particularly in cases where one may suspect elevated right sided pressures, such as those due to a pulmonary embolus. Although it is taught that a dilated right ventricle is associated in patients with pulmonary embolus, but in patients with spontaneous circulation. What is unknown is patients who sustain a cardiac arrest, does the same hold true. There is a paucity of literature surrounding the appearance of the right ventricle in the cardiac arrest patient acutely. This study aims to assess right ventricular size and function in the immediate post cardiac arrest phase.