Diagnosis and treatment of tricuspid valve disease: current and future perspectives

The assessment and management of tricuspid valve disease have evolved substantially during the past several years. Whereas tricuspid stenosis is uncommon, tricuspid regurgitation is frequently encountered and is most often secondary in nature and caused by annular dilatation and leaflet tethering from adverse right ventricular remodelling in response to any of several disease processes. Non-invasive assessment of tricuspid regurgitation must define its cause and severity; advanced three-dimensional echocardiography, MRI, and CT are gaining in clinical application. The indications for tricuspid valve surgery to treat tricuspid regurgitation are related to the cause of the disorder, the context in which it is encountered, its severity, and its effects on right ventricular function. Most operations for tricuspid regurgitation are done at the time of left-sided heart valve surgery. The threshold for restrictive ring annuloplasty repair of secondary tricuspid regurgitation at the time of left-sided valve surgery has decreased over time with recognition of the risk of progressive tricuspid regurgitation and right heart failure in patients with moderate or lesser degrees of tricuspid regurgitation and tricuspid annular dilatation, as well as with appreciation of the high risks of reoperative surgery for severe tricuspid regurgitation late after left-sided valve surgery. However, many patients with unoperated severe tricuspid regurgitation are also deemed at very high or prohibitive surgical risk. Novel transcatheter therapies have begun to emerge for the treatment of tricuspid regurgitation in such patients. Experience with such therapies is preliminary and further studies are needed to determine their role in the management of this disorder.