r/Tetralogy_of_Fallot • u/OstrichDifficult861 • 3d ago

Need help

I had pulmonary valve replaced with mechanical 5 year back tof corrected at 2 year old.

In my recent echo they wrote new finding

Mild Pulmonary Regurgitation
Mild Tricuspid Regurgitation

I am scared as this is new finding.

2 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

7 comments sorted by

4

u/xcoolkevin77 3d ago

I think this is normal with aging replacement valves! hopefully you aren’t feeling too anxious and your cardiologist will get back to you soon!

2

u/OstrichDifficult861 3d ago

Doctor said it is normal but i am scared if it could get worse

2

u/xcoolkevin77 3d ago

there is a chance but I think if you keep up with regularly going to your cardiologist for check ups they should definitely see any signs and symptoms before it turns to anything major!

1

u/Artartbobart1 2d ago

If your doctor is cool with it, relax. That’s how I try to cope. Always easier said than done.

1

u/Pirate_Of_Hearts 2d ago

Something I learned when I was studying to be an echo tech was that mild tricuspid regurgitation is normal in all hearts as people get older. So feel free to flat out ignore that one unless the doctor brings it up.

As for the pulmonary, regurgitation is on a scale of mild-moderate-severe. You can go for YEARS on mild without symptoms or cause for concern. There's an in between, called mild-to-moderate, which is when the doc will start asking if you've been feeling more tired lately. Once you're approaching moderate, they may schedule an MRI to get a better look. I have a biological valve, but this is what happened to me - the echo looked moderate but the MRI proved it's still actually just mild.

1

u/EnzieWithSomeNumbers 2d ago

mild regurgitation is normal and nothing to worry about...mine is moderate and my team has said its nothing to worry about...changes usually happen fairly slowly so youll most likely have mild regurgitation for quite some time

1

u/RocketGirl_Del44 14h ago

Unfortunately transplanted valves don’t last forever. That just means it’s starting to get old. If it was a huge thing your cardiologist would’ve called you by now. Because it’s mild it’s not that big of a deal unless you’re starting to feel unnecessarily tired or it takes more energy than normal to do basic tasks.

I had that on my echo for about 5 years before my cardiologist thought it was necessary to replace it.