TRICUSPID VALVE

What is tricuspid valve regurgitation?

Tricuspid valve regurgitation is when the “door” connecting the upper and lower chambers on the right side of your heart doesn’t properly close. This leaky door allows some blood to flow backward each time your heart beats. Tricuspid valve regurgitation is a form of heart valve disease. It can range from trivial to severe. Over time, moderate to severe backward blood flow through any of your heart valves can make your heart work harder and take a toll on your cardiovascular system.

Other names for this condition include:

Tricuspid regurgitation.

Tricuspid insufficiency.

Leaky tricuspid valve.

What happens during tricuspid valve regurgitation?

To understand this condition, it helps to know a bit about how your tricuspid valve works.

Your tricuspid valve manages blood flow from your right atrium down into your right ventricle (which pushes the blood into your main pulmonary artery. It’s made of a tough, fibrous ring (annulus) that supports three leaflets, or flaps. These leaflets open when your heart relaxes (diastole) to let blood flow from your right atrium into your right ventricle. They close when your heart contracts (systole) to prevent blood from flowing the wrong way, back into your right atrium.

When you have tricuspid valve regurgitation, your leaflets don’t fully seal when your heart contracts. As a result, some of the blood that should get pushed into your pulmonary artery leaks backward into your right atrium. Greater amounts of backward flow lead to more severe valve disease.

Trace, or trivial, tricuspid valve regurgitation (a very small amount of backward flow) is common and harmless, and you won’t feel any symptoms. Mild tricuspid valve regurgitation also causes no symptoms and should have little or no impact on your life. However, your healthcare provider will monitor your condition and may recommend lifestyle changes.

Moderate to severe tricuspid regurgitation is more serious. It may cause symptoms and require treatments ranging from medications to surgery.