Tricuspid Insufficiency A Study of Hemodynamics

The relationship of the presence or absence and the severity of tricuspid insufficiency with the data of preoperative clinical and hemodynamic examinations were investigated in 50 patients with tricuspid insufficiency and in 40 patients without tricuspid insufficiency who underwent open mitral valve surgery. The presence or absence of the tricuspid insufficiency correlated well with the data of preoperative clinical and hemodynamic examinations. The correlation between the severity of tricuspid insufficiency estimated by the surgeons at the time of surgery and the preoperative data were variable. Pulmonary arterial hypertension was considered to be one of the cause for tricuspid insufficiency in patients with mitral stenosis but was not in patients with mitral insufficiency. The utilization of thermodilution technique as the preoperative quantitative means for the tricuspid insufficiency was reported.