Tricuspid regurgitation

[Kit]

Tricuspid regurgitation is leakage of blood backward through the tricuspid valve each time the right ventricle contracts.

Tricuspid regurgitation is caused by disorders that enlarge the right ventricle.
Symptoms are vague, such as weakness and fatigue.
Doctors make the diagnosis because of physical examination findings, and they use echocardiography to confirm the diagnosis.
The underlying disorder needs to be treated.

(See also Overview of Heart Valve Disorders.)
The tricuspid valve is in the opening between the right atrium and the right ventricle. The tricuspid valve opens to allow blood from the right atrium to fill the right ventricle and closes to keep blood from flowing back into the right atrium as the right ventricle contracts to pump blood into the lungs. When the tricuspid valve does not close completely, some blood leaks backward into the right atrium, termed regurgitation.
Blood leaking backward into the right atrium increases the volume of blood there and results in less blood being pumped through the heart and to the body. As a result, the right atrium enlarges, and blood pressure increases in the right atrium and the large veins that enter it from the body. This can sometimes cause symptoms of heart failure. The liver and/or legs may swell because of this increased pressure.
An extremely enlarged atrium often beats rapidly in an irregular pattern (a disorder called atrial fibrillation), which reduces the heart