The value of cardiac output measurement in tricuspid regurgitation

This editorial refers to ‘Natural history of functional tricuspid regurgitation: impact of cardiac output’ by E. Chen et al., pp. 878–885. ‘Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler’.—Albert Einstein Functional or secondary tricuspid regurgitation (STR) is the predominant form of TR, accounting for 85% of TR cases in adults. STR is a consequence of right ventricular (RV) remodelling with annular dilatation and leaflet tethering, often in the presence of pulmonary hypertension, left-sided heart diseases, or RV cardiomyopathy. In ∼10% of STR cases, no aetiological cause can be identified, which is termed idiopathic or isolated TR.1 Little is known about isolated STR although the study has shown that it is often present in older patients and those with atrial fibrillation.1 Isolated STR is associated with increased morbidity and mortality even in the absence of significant comorbidities, overt cardiac or pulmonary causes. Topilsky et al....