What Is Tricuspid Atresia?
Tricuspid atresia is a congenital heart defect (this means that a baby who has it is born with it). It happens when the heart's tricuspid valve does not develop. As a result, blood can't flow from the heart's right atrium (upper receiving chamber) to the right ventricle (lower pumping chamber) as it should.
A baby born with tricuspid atresia (try-KUS-ped ah-TREE-zhah) often has serious symptoms soon after birth because blood flow to the lungs is much less than normal.