Failure of the tricuspid valve to close fully, allowing blood to leak back into the right atrium when the right ventricle contracts. The condition, which is also known as tricuspid insufficiency, reduces the pumping efficiency of the heart. The usual cause is pulmonary hypertension, but more rarely, it follows rheumatic fever, or, in intravenous drug users, a bacterial infection of the heart. Tricuspid incompetence results in symptoms of rightsided heart failure, notably oedema of the ankles and abdomen. The liver is swollen and tender, and veins in the neck are distended. A diagnosis is made from the symptoms, from hearing a heart murmur through a stethoscope, and by tests that may include an ECG, chest X-rays, echocardiography, and cardiac catheterization. Treatment with diuretic drugs and ACE inhibitors often relieves the symptoms.
Tricuspid incompetence |
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