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Heart Disease  (Expert Forum)
 | 
Echocardiogram
Answered by
Cleveland Clinic -
Cleveland - OH
This forum is for questions and support regarding heart issues such as: Angina, Angioplasty, Arrhythmia, Bypass Surgery, Cardiomyopathy, Coronary Artery Disease, Defibrillator, Heart Attack, Heart Disease, High Blood Pressure, Mitral Valve, Pacemaker, PAD, Stenosis, Stress Tests
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MedHelp Member's Question

Echocardiogram

by kate38, Mar 02, 2004 12:00AM


Hello,



What is left ventricular end diastolic pressure,

and what causes it to be elevated?



What causes mitral reg,tricuspid reg,and pulmonic valve PI?



What causes nonspecific ST T wave abnormalities?





:>  :> <:   <:



Have a Wonderful day!!!!

Doctor's Answer

by Cleveland Clinic, Mar 02, 2004 12:00AM
Kate,



Diastole is the phase at which the heart relaxes after its contraction. The end diastolic pressure is the pressure right before the heart begins it's next contraction. So conditions where the heart has a problem relaxing like hypertrophic cardiomyopathy or even LVH, or conditions where there is too much fluid left in the left ventricle like CHF and valvular problems can lead to the number being elevated.  Just a note, this number is difficult to measure with an echocardiogram.



Regurgitation and insufficiency are caused because the valves permit some flow of blood backwards through the valve instead of completly sealing off.



Specifically speaking, non-specific STT wave changes are non-specific. Any number of things can cause them from normal varients, drugs, and electrolyte abnormalities.



hope this is a start
Member Comments (11)

by pirate28594, Mar 02, 2004 12:00AM
I'm sorry to post a question this way but I have been trying for two weeks to post a question with no luck. I started having PVC's 9 years ago. After all the usual test echo, holter, stress,etc.. plus a couple of holters since, the last being 1 year ago. I was told and have been told repeatedly that I have benign PVC's and to ignore them. I take atenolol 25mg 2x a day and klonipin .5 twice a day for anxiety and have been for 8 years. I normally would feel 6-8 a day and some days not notice any. About two weeks ago I began having PVC's more frequently than ever. I will have an hour or two with PvC's every 3-6 beats and then may go a few hours and not notice any. I went to my doctor because of the sudden change. Just last week my doctor put me on the stationary bike for almosy 10 minutes and got a couple of ekg readings which he said, "looked good and that if there was anything wrong causing the new pvc's it would've shown up. The Ekg looked great." I am in the process of moving in to a new house and busy with my three sons and sports activities so lately I've not been getting as much rest, mental or physical, as I would like. I've done a good job at not letting the new skips bother me. I just want to know if it should be explored further or should I just accept that they are just annoying and know that they won't hurt me and go on. I apologize again for jumping in to this thread to ask a question. I hate calling my doctor all the time for the same thing and just need a little input.

by pirate28594, Mar 02, 2004 12:00AM
Just to mention I am 36 years old and in good shape other than not getting the exercise I would like. I don't smoke or drink caffeine etc... I stay away from the usual suspects that can cause PvC's.

by pirate28594, Mar 02, 2004 12:00AM
To: Hankstar
Could you respond to my earlier question? I've posted before(a long while back) and I keep up with your responses. It's hard to post to get a response from a doc. on this site anymore. I've come a long way in overcoming my anxiety and panic brought on by the PVC's when they first started and I don't want to let that happen again. Thanks for your input. It's good to be able to get feedback from others with similar problems.

by kate38, Mar 02, 2004 12:00AM
To: CCF-M.D. BKJ




BKJ,



Actually,the elevated end diastolic pressure reading showed up on both the echocardiogram and cardiac cath.



Thanks,you've been very helpful.



Have a nice evening!!!

:)







by pirate28594, Mar 02, 2004 12:00AM
To: hankstar
Thanks for the reassurance. I'm just one of the "lucky" ones who feels every twinge in my body. In my head I know I should ignore them but when it comes to the heart sometimes it gets the better of me. It's good to get the feedback from others to put those fears at ease. Thanks

by michi, Mar 02, 2004 12:00AM
To: hank
hi hank,



just a short question to you. my pvcs/pacs returned after a three week stop i have them a little bit more frequent than before but that does not bother me too much. what is new i can feel it in my tummy. i had checked the forum because i remember somebody else had mentioned it but could not find it. do you know anything why some people can feel the pvcs in their tummy?

what would you think about tiredness? I am tired when i get up in the morning and at night i can fall in bed by 7pm. the doc said that i am too busy all day and the beta blocker makes me a little more tired. i agree that i do a lot but with 2 small children you are busy but i had not so many problems about 6-8 month ago and than i worked 5 days a week, kids, house, dog, husband.......... . now i work only 2 days the rest is the same.

i do have days where im not able to sit down before night time.



thanks hank



by bigmick, Mar 03, 2004 12:00AM
To: Konopka 1955
Like Hankstar, I am interested in specifically WHY you received an inplantable defibrillator. Approx. 5% of the 'out there' normal population get several-berat runs of VT if Holtered for 24hrs, but they don't know it, and neither is such VT anything other than benign in the absence of any underlying pathology. Did any testing reveal any structural abnormality or disease?? How long (typically) were your VT episodes <5 secs, <30 secs, or >30 secs?? Were they symptomatic/what did they 'feel' like??



Glad to hear the defib and drugs are doing there job, as I'm sure you are too (-:



BM

by bigmick, Mar 04, 2004 12:00AM
To: Hankstar
Take good care of yourself my friend - enjoy those fab sunsets (I have witnessed quite a few from Pine Cay in the Turks and Caicos - mucho beautiful to watch whilst chest-high in warm seawater with a cocktail in one's hand (-:  ).



I agree with you as regards being over-occupied with one's heart health and associated forums: it is a problem I too struggle with! At the end of the day I have to keep reminding myself.... better to die living than live dying.....



Cheers,



Big Mick

by bizdoc, Mar 13, 2004 12:00AM
I love this website.  I am 63 years old and in pretty good health.  My normal heart rate is @60 BPM.  I have had some form or arrhythmia for as long as I can remember; typically in the form of skipped or off-beat rhythms but sometimes very rapid heartbeats.  I have had many EKG’s and even a sonic-cardiogram to check out my heart.  All came back the same way; there is nothing to worry about.  Beginning last November my arrhythmia became chronic, regularly waking me up at night.  At one time or another I have experienced all of the symptoms described in the commentaries posted on this website.  Early on I was convinced that it was related to some food I ate and so began to try to isolate cause and effect; but to no avail.  Typically about 5 hours after eating the arrhythmia would start.  At night this worked out to be around 2-3 in the morning which was very disconcerting.  But I could find no obvious connection to a particular food.  I gave up all caffeine, all of my vitamins and even tried cutting out alcohol; again all to no avail.  I tried taking magnesium and potassium, recommended by some websites, but these offered no magic cure.  The one thing that did seem to offer some relief, was a “stress” pill; a complex B-vitamin supplement with Folic Acid and Biotin.  I get these from the AARP but I think similar formulations are available elsewhere.  They offered relief some times but not always.  After reading all of the commentaries posted here I am now firmly convinced that it is stress related; much like an eye tick.  On many occasions I’d wake up at night and notice my heart was beating perfectly normally.  But then I’d start thinking about it and suddenly the arrhythmia would be back.  It’s difficult not to think about it but the anxiety of waiting for the arrhythmia to return creates a vicious cycle that I am now convinced causes it.  It appears that any of a variety of factors can trigger an onset of arrhythmia.  But once you start focusing on it, it creates its own self-sustaining anxiety.  So, I am now trying stress relief, concentrating on relaxing and trying to simply ignore it.  Hope this helps.

by Ling, Mar 13, 2004 12:00AM
To: bizdoc
I am glad to see what you had to say.  I agree with you.  I am sitting around the house today and am noticing they are bad.  Usually during the week they aren't too terrible.  Probably because they have been on my mind all day.  It is defintely a vicous cycle.  I am doing my best to ignore them.  



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