Q. How do I identify RWMA in echocardiography?
Doctor Answer is medically reviewed by SecondMedic medical review team.
Identifying Right Ventricular Wall Motion Abnormality (RWMA) in echocardiography is essential for detecting and diagnosing several heart conditions. RWMA reflects abnormal movement of the right ventricle wall which can be due to several factors including cardiomyopathy, pulmonary hypertension, congenital heart defects, and more. To identify RWMA on an echocardiogram, you should first examine the overall size of the right ventricle chamber and its walls. The size and shape will typically indicate if there is a difference in rigidity or motility between two walls.
Next you should observe each wall individually by evaluating the motion during systolic contraction as well as diastolic relaxation. Abnormalities can manifest in decreased or paradoxical motion within any one wall compared to the rest of the chambers and other walls. Marked differences between two sides may also indicate RWMA since generally all four walls should move together through each phase of contraction/relaxation cycle. If there appears to be any asymmetries among different directions or hemispheres this could suggest malformation caused by certain diseases that lead to RV failure such as Dilated Cardiomyopathy (DCM). In addition, discordance in timing between movements within a given region could also be indicative of RV dysfunction due to various underlying pathologies affecting its function like Pulmonary Hypertension (PH).
Overall identifying RWMA requires careful examination of both visual characteristics along with movement dynamics so that proper diagnosis measures can be taken for symptomatic relief and treatment planning for patients with cardiac issues related to RV problems associated with certain diseases like DCM and PH.