The reduction in right ventricular longitudinal contraction parameters is not accompanied by a reduction in general right ventricular performance during aortic valve replacement: an explorative study.

•During cardiac surgery, simultaneous measurements of right ventricular (RV) function were performed with a pulmonary artery catheter (PAC), enabling continuous bedside assessment of the right ventricular ejection fraction, and transesophageal echocardiography (TEE).•Echocardiographic parameters of right ventricular longitudinal contraction, i.e. Tricuspid Annular Systolic Plane Excursion and Systolic Excursion Velocity, were significantly reduced between the time point prior to and after cardiothoracic surgery.•The reduction of echocardiographic parameters of RV longitudinal contraction is not accompanied by a reduction in global RV performance, as expressed by transesophageal echocardiography myocardial performance index and continuous pulmonary artery catheter measurements (right ventricular ejection fraction and continuous cardiac index).•The reduction was not limited to the pericardial opening but appeared to be a gradual reduction throughout the surgical procedure.•Solely relying on a single RV parameter as a marker for global RV performance may not be adequate to assess the complex adaptation of the RV to aortic valve replacement.