Statistical Analysis
Statistical analyses were carried out using the SPSS for Windows TM, version 16.0 software packages. Measures of central tendency, dispersion, and frequency distribution were used for data description. In order to compare RV functional parameters the analysis of variance (ANOVA) or its non-parametric equivalent, Kruscal-wallis test was used. The Post-Hoc Tukey test was utilized to compare the RV echocardiographic parameters between multiple groups and the Chi-square test was used for qualitative variables. In addition, Pearson or Spearman’s correlation tests were used to assess the relation between MVA and RV function parameters. A two-sided P-value<0.05 was considered statistically significant.