Documentation of tricuspid regurgitation by radionuclide angiocardiography

Abstract

Review of the radionuclide cardiac angiograms of 82 patients studied during the past year showed reflux of activity down the inferior vena cava in 7, all of whom had clinical evidence for or clinical conditions associated with tricuspid regurgitation. Analysis of the flow of the radioactive bolus through the cardiac chambers demonstrates that the inferior vena cava fills only after activity enters the right ventricle and that filling is most pronounced during ventricular systole. In one case of right-sided endocarditis in which the characteristic murmur of tricuspid regurgitation was heard, thisfinding could not be demonstrated. These results suggest that radionuclide angiocardiography can provide a sensitive noninvasive means for documenting the presence of tricuspid regurgitation.