Right Ventricular Injury: What It Is and How to Manage It During ECMO

You might be wondering what happens when the right side of the heart gets injured while on a special life-support machine called ECMO. This machine helps people with lung problems breathe better. When the right ventricle, the heart's right side, gets injured, it's called Right Ventricular Injury (RVI). This is a big deal because it can lead to death in some cases. Doctors need to know more about how to spot and treat RVI. They looked at many studies to figure out what RVI is and how to manage it. They found that RVI can show up in different ways, like when the right ventricle gets bigger or doesn't work right. Some studies said RVI should be defined based on how well the right ventricle works and its size. Others said it should be managed with different types of ECMO, medicines, or special ways to help with breathing. But they didn't agree on one way to define or treat RVI. This is a problem because RVI happens a lot during ECMO and is linked to a higher chance of death. Doctors need to work together to agree on what RVI is and how to treat it. They should do more research on medicines that target the right ventricle while people are on ECMO. This will help save more lives and make ECMO a better choice for people with lung problems.