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ABSTRACT: Tricuspid valve disease is an often underrecognized clinical problem that is associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Unfortunately, patients will often present late in their disease course with severe right-sided heart failure, pulmonary hypertension, and life-limiting symptoms that have few durable treatment options. Traditionally, the only treatment for tricuspid valve disease has been medical therapy or surgery; however, there have been increasing interest and ... The tricuspid valve is complex anatomically, lying adjacent to important anatomic structures such as the right coronary artery and the atrioventricular node, and is the passageway for permanent pacemaker leads into the right ventricle. Tricuspid Valve: As the right ventricle contracts, the tricuspid valve closes to prevent blood from flowing back into the right atrium. This ensures that deoxygenated blood is pumped into the pulmonary artery and sent to the lungs for oxygenation. An appreciation of the complex and variable anatomy of the tricuspid valve is essential to unraveling the pathophysiology of tricuspid regurgitation. A greater appreciation of normal and abnormal anatomy is important as new methods of treating the tricuspid regurgitation are developed. This review of tricuspid valve and right heart anatomy is followed by a discussion of the possible pathophysiology of secondary (functional) tricuspid regurgitation.
