Phasic right atrium and superior vena cava flow velocity in patients with tricuspid insufficiency

The value of right ventriculography in the diagnosis of tricuspid insufficiency (TI) is often questioned because of 1) the high incidence of premature ventricular contractions (PVCs) during injections and 2) interference of the catheter in the valve closure mechanism. In 168 patients a commercially available, not preshaped, balloon-tipped catheter was used for right ventriculography. To avoid the induction of PVCs, the catheter tip was placed in the middle third of the diafragmatic wall of the right ventricle, and the balloon was inflated, becoming trapped by the trabeculae. In this position the catheter's side holes should be located in the inflow chamber. To ensure this correct position, and therefore lack of ectopic beats during angiography, a saline test injection was performed previously in every case. With this technique the incidence of PVCs during ventriculography was only 7.7%. In all but one case, such beats were isolated. The 168 patients were divided into three groups according to their likelihood of experiencing tricuspid interference by the catheter: group 1 included 41 patients with a normal heart or with coronary artery disease. No one from this group had TI. Of group II, 28 patients with right ventricular pressure or volume overload or cardiomyopathy, only 2 had TI, both with a previous clinical diagnosis of regurgitation. Group III contained 99 patients with rheumatic heart disease. Thirty-five of them showed angiographic TI, and 24 of these had this diagnosis confirmed either clinically or at surgery. It is felt that this technique of right ventriculography, with its low incidence of PVCs and slight interference with tricuspid closure, is a valid method for the objective study of the tricuspid valve.

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