Moderate Tricuspid Regurgitation During Pregnancy

Content provided by the Faculty of the Harvard Medical School

Moderate Tricuspid Regurgitation During Pregnancy

Question:

I am 36 weeks pregnant and was just diagnosed with mild/moderate tricuspid regurgitation. Will this affect my time or method of delivery?

Answer:

Probably not.

The tricuspid valve lies between the right atrium and right ventricle of your heart. Some leaking is quite common in pregnancy due to the increased amount of blood flowing through your heart. This causes the heart's chambers to enlarge. And this can affect the ability of the leaflets of the valve to close completely with each heartbeat.

A leaking tricuspid valve can cause swelling of the legs. This is also a common problem during pregnancy, so a "watch and wait" approach may be best. Your doctor will watch for any evidence of heart enlargement or valve leaking once you are several weeks away from your delivery.

Assuming your description of "mild/moderate" is accurate, it's unlikely that any special measures for your delivery will be needed.

Thomas Lee, M.D., is the chief executive officer for Partners Community HealthCare Inc. He is a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. He is an internist and cardiologist at Brigham and Women's Hospital. Dr. Lee is the chairman of the Cardiovascular Measurement Assessment Panel of the National Committee for Quality Assurance.

Last updated:	July 20, 2009