Tricuspid regurgitation (TR) occurs when the tricuspid valve — located between the right atrium and right ventricle — fails to close completely, allowing blood to leak backward into the right atrium during ventricular contraction. Mild or trace tricuspid regurgitation is extremely common and considered a normal finding. More significant TR can result from pulmonary hypertension (which dilates the right ventricle and stretches the valve annulus), right ventricular failure, rheumatic disease, endocarditis, or Ebstein anomaly. On echocardiography, TR is detected by color Doppler as a jet of flow from the right ventricle into the right atrium during systole. Importantly, the peak velocity of the TR jet is used to estimate pulmonary artery systolic pressure, making it one of the most clinically valuable measurements in echocardiography.
Sonography Term