LVH ON 2 ECG'S WHAT DOES THIS MEAN IF YOUR ECHO IS SHOWING NO THICKNESS!

[marcmega]

I just had 2 ecgs 1 in the er and one at the cardio spec it showed voltage issues the doc said it could be a false positive or a sign that the high blood pressure meds im on should be increased ...but he released me without any further testing so im confused ...?Should i be worried my echo taken 2 months ago showed no thickness in the lv so why is this showing up now!

[grendslori]

Your post is a bit confusing. Two months ago you had an eccho which showed no LVH; did you just have another echo which showed the LVH or are you comparing the echo to the EKG report? The echo is what you want to follow as far as a diagnosis. If you are only going by the EKG readout, follow what the doctor is telling you about the meds you are taking; meds have a way of changing the look of the EKG.

[marcmega]

its the ekg report and what meds blood pressure meds ?im also on xanax and ativan can these by doing something!!

[kenkeith]

ECG's are not reliable and requires other clinical evidence to substantiate...  low voltage on an ECG simply means that on each tracing is effected, can come from many causes: Increased distance of the heart from the chest, this can come from Pericardial Effusion (which is an abnormal accumulation of fluid in the pericardial cavity around the heart), Obesity, COPD with hyperinflation, Pleural Effusion (Which is excess fluid that accumulates in the pleural cavity - the fluid-filled space that surrounds the lungs), Constrictive Pericarditis (Infection of the pericardium), Thyroid and Metabolic problems. (Worst case scenarios and apparently there is no evidence to support a differential diagnoses as your doctor indicates.  I don't mean to get tech, but you can see there are many causes).

I don't know of any medication that cause low voltage, but it certainly can cause other abnormal tracings.  An echocardiogram is very good to determine heart wall and chamber dimensions and you can rely on that information.  Trust you doctor.

[erijon]

Hey Marc,

If I remember right, your previous Echo showed a measurement of 1.2 cm which is just borderline. It is important that you control your BP to keep the LVH from increasing. I'm guessing that you feel the changes the doctor saw on the EKG was a worsening of the LVH?  If so, an EKG is not a very accurate measurement and if he was concerned he would have ordered another Echo. Also, I don't know how an EKG can give any indication on BP, but I could be wrong. I don't think that benzo's will show anything on an EKG either. What sent you back to the ER?

Jon

[marcmega]

here are my numbers from  september 1,2009


lv diastolic dimension 4.9cm lv systolic dimension 3.1cm septal diastolic thickness 0.8cm posterior wall diastolic thickness 0.8cm aortic root diameter 2.6cm left artial diameter 2.7cm peak rv/pa sys tolic pressue 18mmhg

jon i think that may have been someone else but give me a read on these numbers ..and let me know if that was a false positive ekg thanks!!

[erijon]

You may be right, I may have you confused with another, but looking at these numbers your septal wall and posterior wall thickness is in the normal range of .6 cm - 1.1 cm, looks good to me, not sure why the mention of LVH.

Jon

[grendslori]

A wall thickness of 1cm is normal for an adult male.