Patient/caregiver was educated regarding normal functioning of tricuspid valve as follows:
- Tricuspid valve is the valve on the right side of heart, between right atrium and right ventricle.
- Tricuspid valve opens when the right atrium contracts, allowing deoxygenated blood from the right atrium to be pumped into the right ventricle.
- Contraction of right ventricle results in closing of the tricuspid valve and opening of the pulmonary valve. This results in deoxygenated/venous blood in the right ventricle getting pumped out through the pulmonary arteries, to the lungs, for oxygen pick-up.
- Complete closure of tricuspid valve prevents any back flow of blood from the right ventricle into right atrium, when the right ventricle contracts.
- Thus, a normally functioning tricuspid valve acts as a gateway, permitting only one-way flow of deoxygenated/venous blood, from the right atrium into the right ventricle, but not in the reverse direction.
