Signs and symptoms

Narrowing of the tricuspid valve generally occurs with mitral valve disease, so the symptoms are the same.

These include:

• Breathlessness when active
• Tiredness or fatigue; and
• Enlargement of the liver and water retention in lower limbs and the abdomen.
• Tricuspid valve disease is diagnosed as follows.
• Using a stethoscope to listen for a heart murmur (the sound caused by the turbulent flow of blood passing through the heart).
• Having an electrocardiogram (ECG) to see if the right atrium is thickened due to strain and to detect an irregular heartbeat (arrhythmia).
• Echocardiography (echo) to assess the severity of regurgitation and enlargement. This may also provide information on the cause of the disease.
• A chest X-ray to look for any enlargement of the atrium.
• Cardiac catheterisation (angiogram) to detect both stenosis and regurgitation of the valve. It is also carried out to detect any coronary artery disease.

Treatment for tricuspid valve disease will usually be similar to that for mitral valve disease.