The tricuspid valve was once said to be a forgotten valve, but recently it has been attracting even more attention. Earlier this year, the FDA approved two catheter-based devices to repair leaky tricuspid valves (see About Valvular Heart Disease). Both devices have been proven to reduce symptoms and improve quality of life for patients with moderate to severe tricuspid regurgitation, which affects approximately 4% of people over the age of 75.
The two valves on the left side of the heart (the aortic and mitral valves) are more likely to have problems than the tricuspid valve, which separates the upper right and lower right chambers of the heart. But that’s just one reason why tricuspid valve problems have been underdiagnosed, said Dr. Pinak B. Shah, executive director of interventional and structural heart services at Harvard Brigham and Women’s Hospital. says. “The tricuspid valve can leak a lot over a long period of time before symptoms appear,” he says.
Harvard Health Publishing provides access to a library of archived content as a service to our readers. Please note the date of last review or update on all articles.
No content on this site, regardless of date, should ever be used as a substitute for direct medical advice from your physician or other qualified clinician.
