The Effect of Pulmonary Hypertension on Tricuspid Valve Coaptation in Normal and Pathologic Valve Geometries: An In Vitro Study

Pulmonary hypertension (PHTN) is a pathological condition defined as a mean pulmonary artery pressure (mPAP) greater than 25 mmHg. PHTN can result from a number of lung and heart pathologies, including abnormalities of the pulmonary vasculature, left heart disease, chronic lung disease, and chronic thrombotic disease [1]. Regardless of the cause, the increased afterload on the right heart results in right ventricle (RV) hypertrophy and dilatation and tricuspid regurgitation (TR) [2]. RV dilatation is thought to result in the displacement of the tricuspid valve (TV) papillary muscles (PM) and dilatation of the TV annulus, negatively impacting TV function.