Tricuspid Valve Disease

Treatment

At Mayo Clinic, doctors with training in heart disease (cardiologists), heart surgeons and other specialists treat people who have tricuspid valve disease. This team will work with you to determine the most appropriate treatment plan for your condition. Treatment depends on the severity of your condition.

Your treatment may include:

• Careful monitoring. If you have mild to moderate tricuspid valve disease without symptoms, your doctor may recommend careful monitoring of your condition through periodic medical appointments.
• Medications. Medication can't correct tricuspid valve disease, but certain medications can minimize your symptoms by easing your heart's workload and regulating its rhythm. Your doctor also may prescribe antibiotics to prevent an infection of the lining of your heart (bacterial endocarditis).
• Heart surgery. Mayo Clinic heart surgeons have extensive experience in all types of heart valve surgery. Surgeons often treat many heart conditions using minimally invasive heart surgery, including video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery and robot-assisted surgery. Tricuspid valve disease rarely requires surgery.
• Heart valve repair. Surgeons repair a heart valve rather than replace the valve when possible. Your surgeon may perform valve repair to separate fused valve flaps (leaflets), sew torn leaflets or reshape parts of the valve. Tricuspid regurgitation can often be treated by heart valve repair. Repair leaves you with your own normally functioning tissue, which is resistant to infection and doesn't require blood-thinning medication.
• Heart valve replacement. If your tricuspid valve can't be repaired, your doctor must replace it with a biological or mechanical valve. People who have valves damaged by rheumatic disease or tricuspid stenosis require heart valve replacement.