[Incidence of tricuspid regurgitation in normal subjects according to a new Doppler echographic criterion].

To develop a Doppler echocardiographic criterion for tricuspid regurgitation (TR) and to determine the incidence of TR in normal subjects, we examined 357 apparently normal subjects ranging in age from five to 95 years using pulsed and continuous wave Doppler echocardiography. A Doppler transducer was placed over the right ventricular apex, with the Doppler beam directed parallel with TR flow. TR was judged to be present when a holosystolic abnormal flow pattern with the peak velocity greater than 1.5 m/sec was recorded at the tricuspid valve orifice. This was based on the theory that in TR systolic pressure gradient across the tricuspid valve should be 10 mmHg or greater in normal subjects. TR was detected in 87 (24%) of 357 subjects and the mean peak velocity of the TR was 2.1 +/- 0.2 m/sec (mean +/- SD). It was more frequent in women (28%) than in men (19%) and differed significantly among the young, middle and old age groups. It was 79% in the first decade, 30% in the second, 10% in the third, 21% in the fourth, 5% in the fifth, 19% in the sixth, 14% in the seventh, 23% in the eight, 37% in the ninth and 40% in the tenth. The minimum dimension of the tricuspid annulus was significantly enlarged (p less than 0.001) in subjects with TR (2.2 +/- 0.3 cm/m2) compared to that of subjects without TR (1.8 +/- 0.3 cm/m2).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)