The tricuspid valve of the heart is located between the right ventricle and the right atrium and allows blood to flow from the right atrium to the right ventricle. It has three moving leaflets that help regulate blood flow and prevent reflux.
Damage to the tricuspid valve causes heart complications, such as heart failure and arrhythmias.
- When there is stenosis of the tricuspid valve, it results in limited blood flow from the right atrium to the right ventricle. It causes increased pressure in the right atrium and possible respiratory and cardiogenic complications.
- When the tricuspid valve fails, this results in incomplete closure of the valve, which allows blood to flow back into the right atrium of the heart. This gradually causes heart problems that manifest with shortness of breath and swollen extremities.
Symptoms
- Shortness of breath during exercise or when the patient lies down.
- Fatigue due to reduced blood flow.
- Swollen legs and pain in the upper abdomen.
- Feeling of tachycardia or irregular heartbeat.
Patients with the above symptoms come to the Cardiologist for examination. Often, stenosis or insufficiency of the tricuspid valve is associated with insufficiency of the mitral valve. It is important for the Cardiologist to know structural problems of the heart, modern diagnostic and therapeutic techniques.
The examination includes:
- Patient history and auscultation.
- Electrocardiogram to record the electrical activity of the heart and to detect arrhythmias.
- Echocardiogram, which can determine valve function, the extent of stenosis or regurgitation, and the severity of valve problems.
- Magnetic resonance imaging of the heart to examine the anatomy and function of the tricuspid valve more accurately.
Causes of tricuspid stenosis: Rheumatic heart disease, cardiomyopathy, pulmonary hypertension (excessive pressure in the lungs) which can also cause right atrial enlargement, anatomical abnormalities from birth.
Causes of tricuspid regurgitation: Pulmonary hypertension, right atrial dilatation and tricuspid valve weakness, cardiomyopathy, congenital tricuspid valve abnormalities, rheumatic heart disease and endocarditis.
Treatment of tricuspid valve stenosis:
- Medication to manage symptoms and decongest the circulatory system by a Cardiologist and systematic monitoring.
- Percutaneous intervention to dilate the tricuspid valve or surgery in more severe cases.
Treatment of tricuspid valve regurgitation:
- Medication to manage symptoms and decongest the circulatory system and medications to prevent hypertension by a Cardiologist and systematic monitoring.
- Rest and control of physical activity to avoid strain on the right cardiovascular circuit.
- Percutaneous tricuspid valve replacement.
- Procedures to improve pulmonary hypertension and other secondary causes of tricuspid valve regurgitation.
