What is Tricuspid Atresia?
• With tricuspid atresia, the tricuspid valve is absent. Normally, this valve allows oxygen-poor blood to flow from the right atrium to the right ventricle. Because there’s no valve, blood can’t reach the right ventricle. Also, the right ventricle is small and there may be narrowing of the pulmonary valve (stenosis) and pulmonary artery. • Because of the problems with the right heart structures, blood can’t be pumped to the lungs in the normal way. • After birth, a child with tricuspid atresia depends on other structural defects to allow blood to flow through the heart and reach the lungs. • A PFO allows oxygen-poor blood from the right atrium to flow through the atrial septum and mix with oxygen-rich blood in the left atrium. This causes mixed blood (blood with some oxygen) to flow into the left ventricle. It is then pumped through the aorta to the body. Because this blood contains less oxygen than normal, it causes your child’s skin, lips, and nails to appear blue. This condition is
Tricuspid refers to the Tricuspid Valve. Atresia means closed or absent. So Tricuspid Atresia means: • The tricuspid valve is closed or absent. • The right ventricle is small. • The pulmonary artery is narrow. • The pulmonary valve may be blocked. Because the tricuspid valve should act as a gateway between the right atrium and the right ventricle, when it is missing blue (deoxygenated) blood cannot be pumped through the right side of the heart to the lungs. To survive your baby will need either: • at birth, a hole between the atria – an ASD – and a hole between the ventricles – a VSD. The ASD allows blood to cross into the left atrium, through the mitral valve and into the left ventricle. Most of it will be pumped into the aorta, but some will cross the VSD and move into the pulmonary artery (if it is not blocked) and so to the lungs. or • a Ductus Arteriosus. The Ductus Arteriosus is a part of our circulation before we are born, and usually closes shortly after birth. It links the aor
Tricuspid atresia is a type of congenital heart disease in which the valve between the right atrium and right ventricle fails to develop. Blood that returns from the body to the right atrium cannot directly enter the right ventricle, and must pass through a hole in the atrial septum (atrial septal defect) into the left atrium and then the left ventricle. There are several anatomic variations that influence the symptoms and course of treatment in any given patient. There may be a hole in the ventricular septum, called a ventricular septal defect (VSD). The aorta and pulmonary artery may be normally positioned and aligned with the appropriate ventricle (as shown in illustration), or they may be reversed, a condition called transposition of the great arteries. If there is no ventricular septal defect or only a small one, and the great arteries are normally positioned, blood flows from the left ventricle out the aorta to the body. In this situation very little, if any, blood can get to the
The tricuspid valve is located between the right ventricle and atrium, and opens to allow blood to pass from the atrium to the right ventricle. In tricuspid atresia, this valve fails to form properly and generally completely blocks the flow of blood from the atrium to the ventricle. Tricuspid atresia causes immediate problems in the newborn and necessitates emergency medical care. As blood cannot get to the right ventricle in tricuspid atresia, it cannot pass to the lungs for oxygenation. This can mean that the right ventricle is also malformed as in hypoplastic right ventricle. Often, a ventricular septal defect and an atrial septal defect may be present, which allows a little bit of blood to pass to the pulmonary valve, but this does not provide enough to properly oxygenate the body. Tricuspid atresia is generally addressed in three staged surgeries. It is not a repairable defect, but can be alleviated through surgery. Alternatively, parents may opt for transplantation. In general, t
Tricuspid atresia (TA) is a congenital (present at birth) heart defect that occurs when the tricuspid valve, normally located between the right atrium and the right ventricle, does not develop properly during pregnancy. Normally: • oxygen-poor (blue) blood returns to the right atrium from the body, travels to the right ventricle, then is pumped through the pulmonary artery into the lungs where it receives oxygen. • Oxygen-rich (red) blood returns to the left atrium from the lungs, passes into the left ventricle, then is pumped through the aorta out to the body.
