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Left Atrium

What is the normal size for a 44 year old male left atrium, mine is 4.6cm, and what problems (if any) will a 4.6cm left atrium cause.


This discussion is related to mvp with enlarged left atrium.
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Avatar universal
EV1
do you know anything about e wave deceleration? Left atrium normal size but e wave deceleration is shortened. Would this cause symptoms of shortness of breath or chest pain?
Helpful - 0
159619 tn?1707018272
COMMUNITY LEADER
What you were told makes sense to me. If you have recently started with HP meds, it takes your body time to adjust. Many people get dizzy, lightheaded and pass out which is the result of your BP getting too low. I was fortunate, when I started mine several years ago I did not have any side effects and I'm on the same med and same dosage. Also, the enlarged atrium could be a  secondary condition that caused you to pass out if you went into afib which causes your atrium to quiver instead of beating which does not allow your ventricle to fill properly which could restrict blood flow to your head causing you to black out. Both of these are manageable, you just need to work closely with your doctor. Also, it is true that if you have an enlarged aortic root it will need to be watched annually to make sure it is not expanding or it will need to be repaired. The important thing to remember is that your atrium can remodel itself and become smaller in size if you get your blood pressure under control.

Good luck,

Jon
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Avatar universal
Where these dr. carologist? if  not  i think  i would see one, was blood work done , ekg, echo .is  yuoe choloster high.and as erijon said the one test yuo had could not be correct. yet soemthing ddi make you allmost pass out.What meds are  yuo on for blood pressure and how high was  your blood pressure before yuo went on medication, and how long where yuoo n  the blood pressure medication/
Hope yuo do ok
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Avatar universal
Thank for the info,

This concern started Tuesday after my co-workers call 911, my BP dropped and I all back pasted out. The ER said my BP pills were too high causing it, but after testing I was told I had a aortic root of 4.0 com and left atrium of 4.6 cm. Now I have two doctors telling me two differance things.
One doc said, the aortic root needs to be watched closing and if it get bigger it will need fixing and the atrium was no big deal.
The other doc said the atrium could of caused Tuesday's problem and needs further testing, the aortic root was fine.
Dan
Helpful - 0
159619 tn?1707018272
COMMUNITY LEADER
The upper limit of normal for a left atrium is 4.0cm. An enlarged left atrium is not mormally prognistically significant and is often mis- diagnosed. The only true way to measure the size of your atrium is by it's volume, most cardiologists do not test for this. The main risk of an enlarged left atrium is afib which could lead to a stroke. When my test came back a little larger than yours, here's how it was explainedby a doctor on this forum;

" You have to understand the limitations of echocardiography in assessing left atrial size: although they are telling you that it is dilated at 4.9 cm, and the upper limit of normal is 4 cm, it may actually not be dilated at all. This 4.9 cm was most likely obtained on a single 'slice' of the atrium and may not be representatitive of actual left atrial size. For instance if you slice a banana perpendicular to its long axis you may get a small value, but if you cut it at a 45 degreee angle you may get a larger value: simply because you were not perpendicular to its main axis. Often patients, especially patients who may have been heavier in the past ( you mention that you lost 60 pounds) does not have the standard  orientation in the chest and may be rotated to the left, causing the standard echocqardiographic views to be off axis and the consequent innacuracies in measurements. The most accurate way to measure the left atrial size is to report atrial volumes,  but this is difficult to assess in most patients, and in general has very little prognostic value in most patients. The exception are patient with atrial fibrillation whose likelyhood of responding to treatment depends on the left atrial size."

Good luck,

Jon
Helpful - 0
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