Tricuspid valve stenosis is a
valvular heart disease
Valvular heart disease is any cardiovascular disease process involving one or more of the four valves of the heart (the aortic and mitral valves on the left side of heart and the pulmonic and tricuspid valves on the right side of heart). These ...
that narrows the opening of the heart's
tricuspid valve
The tricuspid valve, or right atrioventricular valve, is on the right dorsal side of the mammalian heart, at the superior portion of the right ventricle. The function of the valve is to allow blood to flow from the right atrium to the right ven ...
. It is a relatively rare condition that causes
stenosis (increased restriction of blood flow through the valve).
Cause
Causes of tricuspid valve stenosis are:
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Rheumatic disease
Rheumatism or rheumatic disorders are conditions causing chronic, often intermittent pain affecting the joints or connective tissue. Rheumatism does not designate any specific disorder, but covers at least 200 different conditions, including art ...
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Carcinoid syndrome
Carcinoid syndrome is a paraneoplastic syndrome comprising the signs and symptoms that occur secondary to carcinoid tumors. The syndrome includes flushing and diarrhea, and less frequently, heart failure, vomiting and bronchoconstriction. It ...
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Pacemaker leads (complication)
Diagnosis
A mild
diastolic
Diastole ( ) is the relaxed phase of the cardiac cycle when the chambers of the heart are re-filling with blood. The contrasting phase is systole when the heart chambers are contracting. Atrial diastole is the relaxing of the atria, and ventricu ...
murmur can be heard during
auscultation caused by the blood flow through the stenotic valve. It is best heard over the left
sternal
The sternum or breastbone is a long flat bone located in the central part of the chest. It connects to the ribs via cartilage and forms the front of the rib cage, thus helping to protect the heart, lungs, and major blood vessels from injury. Sh ...
border with rumbling character and tricuspid opening snap with wide-splitting S2. The diagnosis will typically be confirmed by an
echocardiograph, which will also allow the physician to assess its severity.
Treatment
Tricuspid valve stenosis itself usually does not require treatment. If stenosis is mild, monitoring the condition closely suffices. However, severe stenosis, or damage to other valves in the heart, may require surgical repair or replacement.
The treatment is usually by surgery (tricuspid
valve replacement
Valve replacement surgery is the replacement of one or more of the heart valves with either an artificial heart valve or a bioprosthesis (homograft from human tissue or xenograft e.g. from pig). It is an alternative to valve repair.
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) or
percutaneous balloon valvuloplasty. The resultant tricuspid regurgitation from percutaneous treatment is better tolerated than the insufficiency occurring during mitral valvuloplasty.
See also
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Echocardiography
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Tricuspid valve
The tricuspid valve, or right atrioventricular valve, is on the right dorsal side of the mammalian heart, at the superior portion of the right ventricle. The function of the valve is to allow blood to flow from the right atrium to the right ven ...
References
External links
{{Congenital malformations and deformations of circulatory system
Valvular heart disease
Chronic rheumatic heart diseases