Tricuspid Regurgitation - Severe

This is an example of severe tricuspid regurgitation which is caused by degeneration of the tricuspid valve leaflets. The first heart sound is normal. The second heart sound is unsplit. There is a loud, rectangular, pansystolic murmur. There is a brief, rumbling, diamond-shaped diastolic murmur. In the anatomy video you can see the enlarged right atrium and right ventricle. You can see the turbulent blood flow from the right ventricle into the right atrium. This is the systolic murmur. You can see the brief turbulent blood flow from the right atrium to the right ventricle in diastole. This is caused by too much blood in the right atrium which forces blood back into the ventricle during diastole producing the flow rumble. To differentiate tricuspid regurgitation from mitral regurgitation, the maximum intensity of the tricuspid murmur is heard at the left lower sternal border. In addition, the murmur intensity increases with inspiration.

Auscultation Sounds

Patient Recording

Patient Recording - Half Speed

Position

The patient's position should be supine.

Listening Tips

Systole:Loud, pan-systolic murmur, louder during inspiration
Diastole:Brief, rumbling diamond shaped murmur may follow pan-systolic murmur in some cases

Waveform (Phonocardiogram)

Observe Cardiac Animation

Review the animation. Observe the enlarged right atrium and right ventricle. You can see the turbulent blood flow from the right ventricle into the right atrium. This is the systolic murmur. Notice the brief turbulent blood flow from the right atrium to the right ventricle in diastole. This is caused by too much blood in the right atrium which forces blood back into the ventricle during diastole producing the flow rumble. To differentiate tricuspid regurgitation from mitral regurgitation, the maximum intensity of the tricuspid murmur is heard at the left lower sternal border. In addition, the murmur intensity increases with inspiration.

Authors and Sources

Authors and Reviewers

EKG heart rhythm modules: Thomas O'Brien.
EKG monitor simulation developer: Steve Collmann
12 Lead Course: Dr. Michael Mazzini, MD.
Spanish language EKG: Breena R. Taira, MD, MPH
Medical review: Dr. Jonathan Keroes, MD
Heart sounds and mentorship: W. Proctor Harvey, MD
Medical review: Dr. Pedro Azevedo, MD, Cardiology
Last Update: 1/8/2023

Sources

Electrocardiography for Healthcare Professionals, 5th Edition Kathryn Booth and Thomas O'Brien
ISBN10: 1260064778, ISBN13: 9781260064773
McGraw Hill, 2019
Rapid Interpretation of EKG's, Sixth Edition
Dale Dublin
Cover Publishing Company
12 Lead EKG for Nurses: Simple Steps to Interpret Rhythms, Arrhythmias, Blocks, Hypertrophy, Infarcts, & Cardiac Drugs
Aaron Reed
Create Space Independent Publishing
Heart Sounds and Murmurs: A Practical Guide with Audio CD-ROM 3rd Edition
Elsevier-Health Sciences Division
Barbara A. Erickson, PhD, RN, CCRN
Clinical Heart Disease W Proctor Harvey, MD
Clinical Heart Disease
Laennec Publishing; 1st edition (January 1, 2009)
The Virtual Cardiac Patient: A Multimedia Guide to Heart Sounds, Murmurs, EKG Jonathan Keroes, David Lieberman
Publisher: Lippincott Williams & Wilkin)
ISBN-10: 0781784425; ISBN-13: 978-0781784429
Project Semilla, UCLA Emergency Medicine, EKG Training Breena R. Taira, MD, MPH

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