Clinical settings leading to presystolic tricuspid regurgitation

Few studies describe diastolic (presystolic) tricuspid regurgitation (DTR) mainly in the context of atrioventricular conduction abnormalities. Little is known about its occurrence in the other clinical settings.

We identified patients with DTR recorded during routine echocardiographic examinations. DTR was defined as low velocity backward flow through the tricuspid valve orifice during end-diastole recorded with a continuous and/or pulsed-wave Doppler and/or color-coded M-mode Doppler echocardiography.

Diastolic tricuspid regurgitation was present in a wide variety of clinical entities. Of the 23 patients with DTR 6 patients had ischemic and 10 dilated cardiomyopathy. Others had clinical conditions including: inappropriate pacemaker settings, decompensated hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, biventricular dysfunction following orthotropic heart transplantation, torrential aortic regurgitation, low ejection fraction aortic stenosis, advanced endocardial fibroelastosis, and complex congenital heart disease. Twenty of 23 patients had significantly impaired right ventricle (RV) systolic function. Systolic tricuspid regurgitation was estimated as moderate or severe in 13 cases and mild in the remaining 10 cases. RV systolic pressure was significantly elevated in all but 2 cases. In all but 4 cases DTR was transient. The persistence of DTR was associated with severe pulmonary hypertension, severe biventricular failure, and persistent severe pulmonary regurgitation.

Diastolic tricuspid regurgitation may be encountered in a variety of clinical settings and should be sought for especially in patients with advanced RV systolic dysfunction, pulmonary hypertension, pulmonary regurgitation, or conduction abnormalities. Significant systolic regurgitation is not prerequisite for the development of DTR.