Factors Linked to Tricuspid Regurgitation Identified

End-systolic right ventricular eccentricity index best predictor of severity

TUESDAY, July 25 (HealthDay News) -- The end-systolic right ventricular eccentricity index is the best predictor of the severity of functional tricuspid regurgitation in patients with chronic right ventricular dilation, according to a report in the July 15 issue of the American Journal of Cardiology.

Yong-Jin Kim, M.D., and colleagues from Seoul National University in Korea prospectively examined factors associated with the degree of functional tricuspid regurgitation in 64 patients with chronic right ventricular dilation.

The researchers found significant and independent associations between the regurgitant orifice area of functional tricuspid regurgitation and the end-systolic right ventricular eccentricity index, tricuspid valve tethering area, and the end-diastolic tricuspid annulus diameter. The severity of functional tricuspid regurgitation was best correlated with the end-systolic right ventricular eccentricity index, with a sensitivity of 79 percent and a specificity of 82 percent for an index greater than 2.0.

"In conclusion, these findings underscore the importance of eccentric right ventricular dilation for determining functional tricuspid regurgitation severity and should lead to the development of more rational surgical approaches to functional tricuspid regurgitation beyond tricuspid valve annuloplasty," Kim and colleagues conclude.

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