Rheumatic tricuspid valve disease: two-dimensional echocardiographic, hemodynamic, and angiographic correlations

From March 1977 through April 1982, 2-dimensional echocardiography detected 372 patients with rheumatic mitral valve disease. Of these patients, 23 (6%) had tricuspid valve involvement. Two-dimensional echocardiographic criteria of rheumatic tricuspid valve disease included thickened leaflets with restriction in motion, diastolic doming, and encroachment of the leaflet tips on the ventricular inlet. These criteria provided a sensitivity of 100%, a specificity of 90%, a predictive accuracy of 21%, and a negative predictive value of 100% in diagnosing hemodynamically significant tricuspid stenosis. Hemodynamic variables in patients with rheumatic tricuspid valve disease (Group I) were compared with those in patients with no rheumatic tricuspid disease (Group II). The only significant difference was mean right atrial pressure (15 +/- 7 mm Hg versus 11 +/- 5 mm Hg, p less than 0.02). Both groups were classified into patients with (A) and without (B) significant tricuspid regurgitation (TR). There was no significant difference in any hemodynamic variable when Group IA was compared with Group IIA. In addition, there was no difference in any hemodynamic variable when patients with functional TR (Group IIA) were compared with those with rheumatic mitral valvular disease without TR (Group IIB). Two-dimensional echocardiography and cardiac catheterization provide complementary diagnostic information in these patients.