Enlarged Heart

[Duk]

Is there any connection between elevated GGT, elevated hemocrit and enlargment of the right side of the heart?  At what point does an enlargement of the right side of the heart become a problem?  It appears to be caused by a VSD.  What is done to correct right side enlargement, medicine, surgery?  What is worse, an enlarged right side or a aortic valve that is becoming calcified?  I am 36 years old, 220 pounds, what are the chances that some type of surgery will have to be done. Is there anything that I can do to help myself?

[CCF-M.D.-CRC]

Dear duk,
The elevated GGT could be due to some congestion of the liver secondary to the elnarging of the ventricle but I can't explain the elevated hemocrit with the findings you have.  Generally a ventral septal defect (VSD) results in a left to right shunt so the blood counts do not usually elevate.  The only way to treat the enlargement is to correct the underlying defect which is the VSD.  This can be done by a pediatric cardiologist with a minimally invasive technique if the VSD is small but requires surgery for larger VSDs.  A calcified aortic valve is not generally a problem if the calcification is mild.  I would recommend making an appointment with a pediatric cardiologist at a regional medical center near you to follow up on this.

[Susan8]

Hi, I am 25, and although my problems were completely different to yours, i also had an enlarged right side of my heart.  At first the hospital thought I had a vsd, but in fact my heart had ruptured in between all four chambers.  Because of this the right side of my heart was having to work more to compensate for the blood not getting around my body.  My heart became very enlarged, bearing in mind my rupture was a very big tear, and once I had open heart surgery to repair the rupture, my heart is now shrinking back to its original size.  My cardiologist explained to me why the right side of my heart had enlarged, and the fact that a heart is just a muscle, and the more harder it works the bigger it gets, and once it stops having to work so hard it will go back to its original size.

Hope I have helped in some way, sometimes it just feels good knowing somebody else has experienced a similar problem.  Best Wishes

[Duk]

What sympotoms were you having?  How long of time frame was there between first discovery and surgery?  Thanks.

[Susan8]

Hi, My heart ruptured 24 June 2000, and had surgery 25 August 2000.  When they realised exactly what was wrong with me, they said I had at the most 12 months to live, so I jumped a pretty big queue for the surgery.  I am from England you see, and generally you have to wait about 10 months for heart surgery by the NHS.  

When this all began, I knew there was something wrong, because I felt really dizzy and funny, and after that my heart was banging away, and just wouldnt stop.  When people looked at me, they could literally take my pulse by watching me. My pulse would not drop below 140bpm.  I wouldn't worry to much as VSD is very common, that was what the doctors thought I had at first.  I was the 2nd person known to have my condition, the last was in 1967.  If I can help you with anything, you can email me on ***@****.

Best Wishes

[grimmy]

I have been told that I have an enlarged heart. I amm supposed to go see a cariologist on Wednesday of next week. I just would like to know what is the causes of an enlarged heart. I had some x-rays in May of 2000 and then again in June of 2001 and it was found that it was bigger. What is some of the causes of this enlargement. by the way I am only 21 years old.  I know that may not mean anything.

[shelly787]

We were just told the right side of my daughters heart is enlarged and she will need surgery in about 3 yrs.. anyone moved to a higher altitude and experienced problems on the heart

[Larkie]

A related discussion, aortic calcifcation with mildly enlarge heart was started.