Tricuspid valve disease is a common yet serious condition that shows up with many heart problems. It highly prevalent condition that can cause significant disability and reduce of quality of life in heart patients. Though surgical treatments are standard care in tricuspid diseases, but they continue to have one of the highest rates of deaths among other heart-valve-related procedures – lack of quick treatment and failure to detect early symptoms and lack of awareness are the common reasons why. So let us change that in this blog today. Here we provide a brief introduction to the tricuspid valve disease that gives you the right idea about the disease. Read on:
Valves – The doors in the heart
The function of the heart is simple – pump the body’s impure blood to the lungs and then push the oxygenated blood from the lungs to the rest of the body. For this to happen the pure and impure blood must follow separate predictable paths and valves are the doors that ensure this.
The tricuspid valve is the valve between the right atrium and right ventricle and its job is to that impure blood flows from the right atrium to the right ventricle and doesn’t flow back.
What is tricuspid valve disease?
Tricuspid valve disease is a condition that happens when the valve doesn’t work as it is intended to. In some cases, the tricuspid valve gets narrowed and doesn’t allow enough blood to enter the ventricle from the atrium – called stenosis. In other cases, it may not close properly leading to the blood going backwards into the atrium which is called regurgitation. In some other cases, tissue may block blood flow or the valve is misaligned; these cases are rare and are called tricuspid atresia and Ebstein anomaly respectively. In all the above cases, the impure blood doesn’t reach the lungs for oxygenation causing the heart to work extra hard to ensure sufficient blood flow.
Tricuspid Valve Disease Symptoms: Malfunctioning of the tricuspid valve can be mild or severe. Depending on the type of tricuspid valve disease, the patient may suffer a verity of symptoms in varying scales of severity. The most common symptoms of tricuspid valve disease include: 1. Irregular heartbeat 2. Tiredness & fatigue 3. Shortness of breath 4. Swelling in the abdomen or legs, pulsating sensation in the neck. “However not every case of tricuspid valve disease shows up symptoms. Some cases may go unnoticed for a long time only to show up with aggravated symptoms”, says Dr Alla Gopala Krishna Gokhale, the leading heart transplant surgeon in Hyderabad.
Diagnosis and treatment for Tricuspid Valve Disease:
Symptoms, health history and prior medications are discussed. A blood pressure and neck veins check is performed followed by blood tests and imaging studies to diagnose the tricuspid valve disease. Based on the results (severity and types), the treatment plan is devised by the heart specialist. Medication to ease the symptoms of tricuspid valve disease is always the first line of treatment. Heart valve surgery is recommended in severe cases of this disease. Though the treatment plan is straight forward in mild cases, most patients do not receive adequate treatment for this type of disease as they overlook the symptoms. We request every individual consult a heart specialist as soon as they experience any of the symptoms mentioned above. In case you live in Hyderabad Dr Alla Gopala Krishna Gokhale is the leading heart specialist and the best heart transplant surgeon in Hyderabad who can help you. You can contact him here @Call: 9603040506
