**Mitochondria and Metabolism in Right Heart Failure**

**Mitochondria and Metabolism in Right Heart Failure**

DOI: 10.5772/intechopen.70450

Danielle R. Bruns and Lori A. Walker Danielle R. Bruns and Lori A. Walker Additional information is available at the end of the chapter

Additional information is available at the end of the chapter

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.70450

#### **Abstract**

Heart failure (HF) is a clinically complex and heterogenous disease characterized by an inability of the heart to pump sufficient blood to the periphery. As such, it has historically been thought of and studied as a disease of the left ventricle (LV). While LV failure is the most common form of HF, it is the ability of the right heart to function that predicts survival in many clinical settings. Extrapolation of mechanisms of left HF to the right ventricle (RV) has yet to prove fruitful in identification of therapeutic approaches, in large part due to a lack of basic mechanistic understanding of the RV which is embryologically, anatomically, and physiologically distinct from the LV. The failing LV is characterized by mitochondrial dysfunction and a metabolic switch, both of which contribute to an energetically starved heart with poor contractile ability. These mechanisms, however, are far less described in the failing RV. The purpose of this chapter is to present the current literature examining the role of mitochondria and metabolism in the healthy right heart, treatments to target deficits in the failing RV, and to identify knowledge gaps for future research in this clinically important area.

**Keywords:** heart failure, right ventricle, mitochondria, metabolism, ventricular dysfunction, pulmonary hypertension
