Acquired abnormalities of the tricuspid valve--an ultrasonographic study.

In a retrospective ultrasonographic study, 32 cases of acquired disease of the tricuspid valve were detected amongst 7000 consecutive patients. Patients with congenital heart disease (except when the seat of an acquired disease) and with prosthetic heart valves, were excluded. There were twenty-one cases of rheumatic disease, all having additional involvement of the mitral valve. Prolapse (5 patients), bacterial endocarditis (2 patients), rupture of papillary muscle (1 patient), cardiac tumours (2 patients) and carcinoid heart disease (1 patient) were also identified. Acquired disease of the tricuspid valve is infrequently encountered during routine cross-sectional echocardiography but its recognition is clinically important.