ECHOCARDIOGRAPHY RESULTS

I JUST REIEVED THE REPORT OF MY ECHOCARDIOGRAM.  COULD YOU TELL WHAT THESE THINGS MEAN?
MILD CONCENTERIC LEFT-VENTRICULAR HYOPERTROPHY
MITRAL DOPPLER IN FLOW REVEALS MILD RELAXATION ABNORMALITY CONSISTENT WITH SOME DEGREE OF DIASTOLIC DYSFUNCTION.
TRACE PERICARDIAL EFFUSION IDENTIFIED.

WHAT IS LEFT-VENTRICULAR HYOPERTROPHY?

WHAT IS YOUR DIASTOLIC? AND WHAT KIND OF RELAXATION IS THAT?

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TACE PERICARDIAL EFFUSION?  I GUESS IT MEANS A LITTLE BIT, BUT WHAT DOES PERICARDIAL MEAN?

I HAVE PITTING EDEMA IN MY LEGS AND A ENLARGE RIGHT LOBE OF MY LIVER.  DOES ALL THIS HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH THAT?

I HAVE AN APPOINTMENT WITH CARDIO DOCTOR ON THE 29TH.

THANK YOU FOR ANY IMFO YOU MIGHT GIVE ME.
JEAN

[CCF-M.D.-KE]

Dear Jean,  

I hope everything works out well during your next appointment.
The echocardiogram you recently had showed some abnormalities.
1. Mild concentric left ventricular hypertrophy(LVH): Abnormal thickening of the muscular walls of the heart. The most commmon cause of this is hypertension.

2. Diastolic dysfunction: Under normal circumstances the heart fills with blood during the relaxation phase (diastole) of the heart beat. However, if a person has LVH the heart may not be able to fill as it normally does, therefore resulting in some degree of inefficiency. If left untreated this can lead to heart failure. The most common cause of this is hypertension.

3. Pericardial effusion: The heart sits inside  of a sac, called the pericardial sac. A pericardial effusion is when fluid accumulates within the sac. Your echocardiogram showed a small amount of fluid present.

4. The pitting edema and enlargement of the liver may be related to the findings on your echo. Heart failure can result in edema and congestion of the liver which can manifest as lobar enlargement. Discuss with your doctor.

These are all great questions, your cardiologist will have more information regarding your medical history and will likely be able to provide more indepth answers to  your questions.


Thanks for your question,


CCF-MD-KE

[rick1234]

Hi Doc,

just wondering why thickening of the heart wall would be a bad thing. seems that a thicker heart would be stroger no?  or is it more like a scar tissue thing?

thanks

[NSINC]

Rick,you are right a thicker heart muscle makes for a stronger contraction , and promotes a better cardiac output , but within limits.If the heart is too thickened even though it is contracting well the overall function of it  becomes inefficient because the heart is not able to relax adequately during the diastolic phase of the cardiac cycle when the heart is filling with blood.Since it is not able to fully relax(expanding to a normal volume), the pressure in the heart created by the blood trying to enter a chamber that is too small increases significantly forcing some of the blood back into the lungs whence it came.

Another consequence of excessive thickening is that the heart muscle itself creates an architectural  barrier by obstructing the outflow tract from the left ventricle , thus reducing the cardiac output.

I`m not a doctor,but I think I`m at least mostly right about this.

[GLADEYES53]

THANKS TO THE ANSWERS TO MY PROBLEM.  I JUST HAD A HOLTER MONITOR FOR 24 HOURS YESTERDAY.  I SAW A LUNG DOCTOR, BECAUSE I HAVE SO MUCH TROUBLE BREATHING, WHO SAID HE THINKS IT IS MY HEART AND NOT SO MUCH THE LUNGS.  HE IS TO GET WITH MY HEART DOCTOR AND DISCUSS MY PROBLEM WITH HIM.  THE LUNG DOCTOR THINKS I AM GOING INTO HEART FAILURE EVEN IF MY EF IS 60.  WELL I'LL HAVE TO WAIT FOR THE HEART DOCTOR ON THE 29TH TO SEE IF HE THINKS SO TOO.  THEY SHOULD SEE SOMETHING ON THE HOLTER, BECAUSE I HAD A LOT OF FUNNY BEATS.  I ALSO HAVE A PROBLEM TAKING A SHOWER WITHOUT SITTING DOWN DUE TO UNABLE TO BREATH.  DID ANYONE KNOW THAT WITH HEART FAILURE YOU GET A COUGH? THAT'S WHAT THE LUNG DOCTOR SAID ANYWAY.
THANKS TO ALL WHO ANSWERED.

GLADEYES