Blood flows from your right atrium into your right ventricle through the open tricuspid valve.

Roles of Your Four Heart Valves

• Tricuspid Valve. Has three leaflets or cusps.
• Pulmonary Valve (or Pulmonic Valve) (link opens in new window)
• Mitral Valve. Has two leaflets.
• Aortic Valve. Has three leaflets, unless it’s abnormal from birth, i.e., bicuspid aortic valve.

When the two atrium chambers contract, the tricuspid and mitral valves open, which both allow blood to move to the ventricles. When the two ventricle chambers contract, they force the tricuspid and mitral valves to close as the pulmonary and aortic valves open.

The tricuspid valve functions as a one-way valve that closes during ventricular systole to prevent regurgitation of blood from the right ventricle back into the right atrium. It opens during ventricular diastole, allowing blood to flow from the right atrium into the right ventricle.

7 powerful ways you can strengthen your heart

1. Get moving. Your heart is a muscle and, as with any muscle, exercise is what strengthens it.
2. Quit smoking. Quitting smoking is tough.
3. Lose weight. Losing weight is more than just diet and exercise.
4. Eat heart-healthy foods.
5. Don’t forget the chocolate.
6. Don’t overeat.
7. Don’t stress.

Mean years of survival from diagnosis of severe TR was 4.35±3.66, and mean years of survival from onset of symptom was 2.28±1.40.

Tricuspid Valve Surgery Recovery After your procedure, you will remain in the hospital for approximately five days before going home. Most people can return to their normal activities three to four months after surgery.

Aortic valve stenosis is a defect that narrows or obstructs the aortic valve opening, making it difficult for the heart to pump blood into the body’s main artery (aorta). Typically the aortic valve has three tightly fitting, triangular-shaped flaps of tissue called cusps (tricuspid aortic valve).

During the surgery During conventional surgery, the surgeons will stop your heart while they work on the valve or valves. You will be hooked up to a heart-lung machine that takes over the pumping action of your heart, so that your body continues to receive a flow of oxygen-rich blood.

Full recovery from heart valve surgery can take several months. Recovery includes healing of the surgical incision, gradually building physical endurance, and exercising. You will feel tired and sore for the first few weeks after surgery. You may have some brief, sharp pains on either side of your chest.

The life expectancy after valve replacement varies with age, but life-table analyses of large datasets suggest the average life-expectancy of a 60 year old after aortic valve replacement is about 12 years10.

For example, they estimated that a 45-year-old undergoing mechanical valve replacement has a life expectancy of 19 years (compared with 34 years in the general population), and lifetime risk of thrombo-embolism, bleeding, and re-intervention of 18, 15, and 10%, respectively.

Fact: Valve Replacement and Heart Bypass surgery (or a combination of the two) are the most common procedures in the “elderly.” Fact: More than 30% of the patients having heart valve surgery are over 70. Fact: More than 20% of heart valve surgical patients are over 75 years of age.

Each year in the United States, more than five million Americans are diagnosed with heart valve disease, which occurs when one or more heart valves are not opening or closing properly.

Possible risks of heart valve repair or replacement surgery include: Bleeding during or after the surgery. Blood clots that can cause heart attack, stroke, or lung problems. Infection.

The aortic valve in a typical healthy heart has three flexible “leaflets” that open and close to send oxygen-rich blood on a one-way route from the heart to the aorta. But a person with a bicuspid aortic valve has only two leaflets (also known as flaps or cusps). This can lead to life-threatening problems.

Unfortunately, heart valves do not tend to heal themselves. It is true that some infants born with heart murmurs will eventually grow out of the murmur as the heart matures.

A doctor usually diagnoses a leaky heart valve by:

1. Listening to the heart with a stethoscope for abnormal sounds such as a heart murmur.
2. Looking at the results of a heart ultrasound, also called an echocardiogram.

Depending on which valve is causing the problem and the severity of your symptoms, your cardiologist or surgeon might recommend a surgical procedure or a transcatheter, minimally invasive procedure to repair or replace the leaky valve. When possible, heart valves are repaired rather than replaced.

Key points about aortic valve regurgitation It becomes leaky allowing some blood flow back into the left ventricle instead of forward into the body. You may not have symptoms for many years. Chronic aortic valve regurgitation may get worse. It may require surgery.

A leaky heart valve may go unnoticed because frequently, a leaky heart valve causes no symptoms. A leaky heart valve may go unnoticed because frequently, a leaky heart valve causes no symptoms. If a heart valve leak is severe, it can lead to symptoms such as breathlessness and cause the heart to fail.

Trauma can cause valves to leak, as can infection of the heart valve or damage from rheumatic fever. High blood pressure, pulmonary hypertension, and an enlarged heart can also cause leaking valves. Some heart surgeries to correct heart defects in children may result in leaking valves later in life.

A leaky heart valve, also called regurgitation, can happen suddenly or it may develop slowly over many years. If it’s a minor issue, it can be treated with medication, or you may not need treatment at all. But in some cases, your doctor may recommend surgery to repair or replace it to prevent damage to your heart.

Signs and symptoms of mitral valve regurgitation, which depend on its severity and how quickly the condition develops, can include: Abnormal heart sound (heart murmur) heard through a stethoscope. Shortness of breath (dyspnea), especially when you have been very active or when you lie down. Fatigue.

Leaky heart valves are fairly common. Approximately 10% of the total population has one. Mitral valve regurgitation is the most common type. Mild cases of leaking usually do not cause any symptoms or problems.