Conclusion
It is widely accepted nowadays that the RV plays a crucial role in various clinical settings. RV dysfunction is a strong independent predictor of mortality and adverse outcomes not only in diseases primarily affecting the right heart or the pulmonary vascular bed, but also in diseases primarily involving the left ventricle, such as congestive HF, dilated cardiomyopathy and ischaemic heart disease. Innovative echocardiographic techniques such as STE and 3D echocardiography overcome the pitfalls and challenges of conventional parameters of RV assessment. While having good correlation with the gold standard of CMR imaging, they have some advantages over CMR, such as less cost and wider availability. Integrating novel techniques in the RV echocardiographic assessment allows a comprehensive evaluation and an enhanced risk stratification for patients with HF, thus improving therapeutic strategies and potentially leading to an improved outcome.