Ask Me Anything #1: “Does Mitral Regurgitation Cause Tricuspid Regurgitation?”

By Adam Pick on October 8, 2015

You asked the questions! We got the answers! That’s right… We’re ready to start our “Ask Me Anything” video series that was just filmed at the Heart Valve Summit in Chicago.

Let’s start with George’s question, “Does mitral valve regurgitation cause tricuspid valve regurgitation?” To get the answer, I was very fortunate to connect with Dr. David Adams, one of the course directors of the Heart Valve Summit and the Cardiac Surgeon-in-Chief at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York.

 

 

Many thanks to George for his questions and a special thanks to Dr. David Adams for his extraordinary support of our patients and our community. So you know, Dr. Adams has successfully treated over 100 patients at this website!

Keep on tickin!
Adam

P.S. For the hearing impaired members of our community, I have provided a written transcript of this video below.

Adam: Hi everybody, it’s Adam with heartvalvesurgery.com. We are here at the Heart Valve Summit. I’m thrilled to be joined by Dr. David Adams who is one of the course directors of this program. He’s also the cardiac surgeon and chief at Mount Sinai in New York. Dr. Adams, thanks for being with us.

Dr. David Adams: Hi Adam, good to see you again.

Adam: As you know, we’re answering the patient questions that were submitted by you at our Facebook page. This is a great question Dr. Adams that came in from George Smith. He writes: Adam, how does mitral regurgitation cause tricuspid regurgitation?

Dr. David Adams: That’s actually an important question, Adam. The right ventricle that – we have rear valves in our heart. The tricuspid valve and the mitral valve are both atrioventricular valves – you have two atria and two ventricles. The right ventricle pumps blood to the lungs. The left ventricle pumps blood to our body. The mitral valve loses its seal and starts to leak, that raises – that turns the blood backwards. It raises the pressure in the pulmonary arteries that puts more pressure on the right ventricle and the right ventricle can start to dilate. Actually, it’s the free wall of the right ventricle that changes and that starts to pull open the tricuspid valve.

It’s been well recognized for many years mitral valve disease can stop the flow of blood and it reverses. That puts pressure on the right side and that starts to increase – can increase dysfunction in the tricuspid valve. The reason I say that’s an important problem is because there is a lot of new data, including a very important paper that we’ve published from our own experience in patients in the Journal of American College of Cardiology, describing a treatment for tricuspid regurgitation – prophylaxis against it at the time of mitral surgery. That’s why many patients today that undergo mitral valve repair for prolapse also undergo a tricuspid valve repair, either to correct existing tricuspid irritation or to try and prevent it in the future.

Adam: Great. I hope that helped you learn more about tricuspid regurgitation, the treatment, simultaneous mitral valve disease and tricuspid valve disease. Dr. Adams, as always, I have to extend an extraordinary thanks to you and your entire team for the work that you’re doing. On behalf of all of our members in our community thank you for transforming the education of our community and helping patients get the best possible outcomes that they can. Thanks for all your incredible support.

Dr. David Adams: Thanks Adam, I appreciate it.


Written by Adam Pick
- Patient & Website Founder

Adam Pick, Heart Valve Patient Advocate

Adam Pick is a heart valve patient and author of The Patient's Guide To Heart Valve Surgery. In 2006, Adam founded HeartValveSurgery.com to educate and empower patients. This award-winning website has helped over 10 million people fight heart valve disease. Adam has been featured by the American Heart Association and Medical News Today.

Adam Pick is a heart valve patient and author of The Patient's Guide To Heart Valve Surgery. In 2006, Adam founded HeartValveSurgery.com to educate and empower patients. This award-winning website has helped over 10 million people fight heart valve disease. Adam has been featured by the American Heart Association and Medical News Today.


Beverly Hardwick says on October 8th, 2015 at 6:11 pm

I HAD DR PATRICK McCARTHY, I COULD NOT HAVE BEEN TREATED BETTER EVER!



Tracy Aranda says on October 9th, 2015 at 9:36 pm

I am ever so grateful to Dr. Adams, Dr. Boateng, and the whole team of doctors and nurses at Mount Sinai! They did such a great job on my valve repairs in Nov. ’13!



jim26385 says on October 27th, 2015 at 6:47 pm

In 2012 Dr. Adams and his colleague at Mount Sinai, Dr. Anyanwu, repaired my mitral valve and, as the interview indicates, also repaired my tricuspid valve at the same time. They did a fantastic job — God bless them — and I’m in great shape today.


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