Pulmonic regurgitation treatment
Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]
Treatment
If the patient develops right-sided heart failure that is refractory to medical management, pulmonic valve repair or replacement (preferably with a bio prosthetic valve) may be necessary.
Patients with pulmonic regurgitation who become pregnant usually tolerate pulmonic regurgitation well. Exceptions to this rule include, those patients who have undergone surgical repairs for tetralogy of Fallot.
Antiobiotic prophylaxis
The American Heart Association Recommendations on Prevention of Bacterial Endocarditis indicate that antibiotic prophylaxis is not necessary for pulmonic regurgitation in those patients with otherwise structurally normal pulmonic valves, particularly if there is no diastolic murmur. It should be noted, though, that those patients with the following conditions may warrant antibiotic prophylaxis:
- Complex cyanotic heart disease
- Prosthetic heart valves
- Patients with congenital heart disease and pulmonic regurgitation
- Acquired pulmonic valve regurgitation as the result of rheumatic heart disease
- Patients with complex cyanotic heart disease
- In patients who have previously sustained bacterial endocarditis