FIGURE 2.

The impact of right and left ventricular reactive fibrosis on cardiac function, physiology, and clinical outcome. Increased LV afterload induces LV reactive fibrosis (right) that correlates with LV dysfunction, and increases the risk for arrythmias and for hypoxic conditions in the LV. Together, these changes in the LV increase the risk for sudden cardiac death, increase patient mortality, and associate with adverse outcomes, hospitalization, and disease severity. RV reactive fibrosis (left) following an increased RV afterload leads to increased RV stiffness and dysfunction. However, the role of fibrosis in the development of RV failure is not fully understood.