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Heart Disease (Expert Forum)
‘Mild Interventricular septal thickening’
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‘Mild Interventricular septal thickening’
by F.Whitebird, Sep 12, 2000 12:00AM
9-11-2000
Re: ‘Mild Interventricular septal thickening’ and other questions on echocardiogram results..
I am 64 years old, in good health, 30 pounds overweight, walk and mild gardening exercise regularly. I do not smoke, drink moderately and eat a low fat, high fibre diet. I recently moved to another state and in my initial visit with new doctor asked why I had begun hearing my heart beat at night. My description of the sound I was hearing sounded like a heart murmur and indeed her examination did reveal one. one.. I had been told I had a heart murmur 35 years ago, but subsequent doctors have not heard it.
After reviewing my records she prescribed an echo cardiogram. The report is back from the cardiologist and I have the following questions. I would also like to know if an exercise program combined with weight lose will effect self healing of the problems found.... or if and when I can expect to need surgery. My recent cholesterol tests showed: Triglyceride - 322; Cholesterol - 208; HDL-Cholesterol - 44; LDL-Cholesterol - 100; VLDL-Chol. - 64; Total Chol/HDL 4.7; LDL/HDL 2.3. My blood pressure for the last few years is usually on the high end of average - 135/85. Previously it had always been on the low end of normal. Here are the questions based on the cardiologists report:
1.(“Normal left ventricular systolic function with mild interventricular septal
thickening”) - what is ‘mild interventricular septal thickening’?
2. (“Trace to mild amounts of aortic insufficiency and mitral regurgitation.”)
How dangerous is ‘Trace to mild” in this case, and what is ‘mitral’ regurgitation?
3. (“Trace tricuspid regurgitation”) How dangerous is this?
4. (“Pulmonary artery pressure cannot be estimated.”) Why, and is this bad?
5. (“Diastolic relaxation abnormality”) What does this mean? Is this significant?
6. (“The left atrium is mildly enlarged. The right-sided chambers are not dilated.”)
Should I worry about the enlarged left atrium in light of the sentence following it?
7. (“There is a mild E to A reversal.”) What does this mean.
Thank you VERY much for you Web sight...and thank you for any help you can give.
F. Parrish
Doctor's Answer
by Cleveland Clinic, MD, Sep 12, 2000 12:00AM
, Sep 12, 2000 12:00AM
1.(“Normal left ventricular systolic function with mild interventricular septal thickening”) - what is ‘mild interventricular septal thickening’?
A: The wall between the two sides of the heart is call the intraventricular septum. Thickeining of this wall can be due to a variety of different factors but the most common is high blood pressure.
2. (“Trace to mild amounts of aortic insufficiency and mitral regurgitation.”)
How dangerous is ‘Trace to mild” in this case, and what is ‘mitral’ regurgitation?
A: Aortic and mitral refer to the aortic and mitral valves. Regurgitation means a 'backflow' of blood through the valve. In general trace to mild regurgitation is not considered dangerous and no intervention is needed.
3. (“Trace tricuspid regurgitation”) How dangerous is this?
A: This is a normal finding.
4. (“Pulmonary artery pressure cannot be estimated.”) Why, and is this bad?
A: Pulmonary artery pressure can only be estimated if there is more than trace tricuspid regurgitation. This is not bad.
5. (“Diastolic relaxation abnormality”) What does this mean? Is this significant?
A: This has to do with how the heart 'relaxs' during diastole. We often see relaxation abnormalities in persons with hypertension. Treatment usually involves treating the blood pressure.
6. (“The left atrium is mildly enlarged. The right-sided chambers are not dilated.”)
Should I worry about the enlarged left atrium in light of the sentence following it?
7. (“There is a mild E to A reversal.”) What does this mean.
A: E to A reversal is a technical description of the blood flow pattern across the mitral valve. This helps determine the diastolic function of the heart. Mild left atrial enlargement is a nonspecific finding that may be related to the mitral regurgitation. In general there is nothing in this report that is alarming. Your cardiologist can answer any specific questions concerning treatment needs and how these results apply to you.
A: The wall between the two sides of the heart is call the intraventricular septum. Thickeining of this wall can be due to a variety of different factors but the most common is high blood pressure.
2. (“Trace to mild amounts of aortic insufficiency and mitral regurgitation.”)
How dangerous is ‘Trace to mild” in this case, and what is ‘mitral’ regurgitation?
A: Aortic and mitral refer to the aortic and mitral valves. Regurgitation means a 'backflow' of blood through the valve. In general trace to mild regurgitation is not considered dangerous and no intervention is needed.
3. (“Trace tricuspid regurgitation”) How dangerous is this?
A: This is a normal finding.
4. (“Pulmonary artery pressure cannot be estimated.”) Why, and is this bad?
A: Pulmonary artery pressure can only be estimated if there is more than trace tricuspid regurgitation. This is not bad.
5. (“Diastolic relaxation abnormality”) What does this mean? Is this significant?
A: This has to do with how the heart 'relaxs' during diastole. We often see relaxation abnormalities in persons with hypertension. Treatment usually involves treating the blood pressure.
6. (“The left atrium is mildly enlarged. The right-sided chambers are not dilated.”)
Should I worry about the enlarged left atrium in light of the sentence following it?
7. (“There is a mild E to A reversal.”) What does this mean.
A: E to A reversal is a technical description of the blood flow pattern across the mitral valve. This helps determine the diastolic function of the heart. Mild left atrial enlargement is a nonspecific finding that may be related to the mitral regurgitation. In general there is nothing in this report that is alarming. Your cardiologist can answer any specific questions concerning treatment needs and how these results apply to you.
Member Comments (2)
by F.Whitebird, Sep 12, 2000 12:00AM
Thank you vry much. I am very much relieved as I have been waiting for two weeks to hear from my Doctor and of course have imagined all types of things. Thank you for this wonderful service. It's amazing that you can respond so quickly over the web, when it seems a doctors office is drowning in paper work and as a result doesn't have time to resond to the patient. Thanks again.
by JessM34, Apr 09, 2008 03:46PM
A related discussion, Mild Triscupid Regurgitation Normal??? was started.
