Right ventricular function (RV) is one of the most important predictors of prognosis in
many cardiovascular disease states. Despite the significance of RV function to survival, there are
no therapies that directly nor selectively improve RV function. As well, the basis for RV failure
is poorly understood. This is particularly relevant for patients with pulmonary arterial
hypertension (PAH), where RV failure in the setting of pressure overload is the leading cause of
death. PAH will be introduced in the 2nd chapter of this thesis by comparing and refining
contemporary mortality risk assessment strategies. I will then explore 1) RV neurohormonal
function and, 2) RV energetics, two molecular pathways thought to be involved in the
pathogenesis and progression of maladaptive RV failure. I employed small animal molecular
imaging using positron emission tomography (PET) to non-invasively investigate these
pathways. The PET imaging techniques employed in this thesis have the unique potential for
translation to human studies, to further explore disease mechanisms.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:uottawa.ca/oai:ruor.uottawa.ca:10393/40737 |
| Date | 16 July 2020 |
| Creators | Zelt, Jason |
| Contributors | Mielniczuk, Lisa Marie, Beanlands, Rob |
| Publisher | Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa |
| Source Sets | Université d’Ottawa |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | application/pdf |
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