Tricuspid Regurgitant Jet Velocity as an Independent Marker for Mortality in Sickle Cell Anemia

The purpose of this study is to evaluate patients with pulmonary hypertension and sickle cell disease who have had multiple echocardiograms. Previous studies have shown that an elevated tricuspid jet (TR) regurgitant velocity on echo in this population is a predictor of mortality. This initial data only examined an isolated TR jet velocity. It was presumed that the mortality was related to pulmonary hypertension.

It is the aim of this study to retrospectively evaluate patients who have had multiple echocardiograms and to determine if patients who had either a normalization of their TR jet velocity on a subsequent echo or had no evidence of pulmonary hypertension on right heart catheterization had a similar mortality rate to those with persistently elevated TR jet velocity.