Use of Right ventricular Free Wall Systolic Strain to Predict Pulmonary Hypertension in Patients with Systemic Sclerosis

Systemic sclerosis (SSc) has the highest mortality of autoimmune diseases. Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) occurs in 8%–12% of SSc patients. Patients with SSc are screened annually with various tools (including transthoracic echocardiography) and right heart catheterisation (RHC) is indicated if positively screened. While these algorithms are highly sensitive for the detection of PAH, specificity is only moderate. Right ventricular free wall systolic strain (RVFWSS) has been shown to predict clinical deterioration and mortality in established PAH; however, its role in prediction of PAH in SSc is unknown.