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Heart Disease (Expert Forum)
Re: Need advice on hypertrophy
This forum is for questions and support regarding heart issues such as: Angina, Angioplasty, Arrhythmia, Bypass Surgery, Cardiomyopathy, Coronary Artery Disease, Defibrillator, Heart Attack, Heart Disease, High Blood Pressure, Mitral Valve Prolapse, Pacemaker, PAD, Stenosis, Stress Tests.
Re: Need advice on hypertrophy
by CCF Cardio MD - MTR, Jan 01, 1995 12:00AM
Posted By CCF CARDIO MD - MTR on April 02, 1999 at 11:07:31:
In Reply to: Need advice on hypertrophy posted by Laura on April 01, 1999 at 19:49:17:
Hi,
I just learned that I have a small area of hypertropy in my heart muscle. They didn't specifically say it was the left ventricle, but the doctor did explain about the muscle growing to try to compensate, so going by other answers in this forum I deduced that's what it is.
I have borderline high blood pressure. It's not even high at all a lot of the time. However, I am breathless after slight exertion and my legs get weak. Then my chest starts to hurt, I start to sweat. It goes away as soon as I sit down and rest. I should also probably tell you that at first I get tremendous pain in my lower back before all that happens. I thought it might be an anxiety attack.
I told my doctor and he did an echocardiogram. This is what he told me exactly. It's a pretty good looking heart. Seems to be pumping ok. The valves look ok. There is a small area of thickened muscle, probably because of high blood pressure. All in all, it's a good heart, just not perfect.
He set me up for a stress test which I know I am going to fail miserably. I have no stamina. I am breathless after walking a block. I have gained a lot of weight in the last couple of years (about 40 pounds) but I have always been overweight. I need to lose about 120 pounds.
I had toxemia during my pregnancy with pretty high blood pressure but it went back down after I delivered.
I would like to know if stress and obesity can cause this condition? I am only 33. My life the past 4 years has been extremely stressful. Is it possible this is what caused the muscle to thicken?
Also, is this reversible? I see you have mentioned that some medicines seem to reverse it. Could you tell me which ones?
Is my heart destined to fail? I feel like I've been given a death sentence.
One more thing. I see some forms of this disorder are genetic. How would one know if that is what they have, if they have no idea of their family history due to adoption? How rare is the genetic type? Is it inevitably fatal?
Will stress reduction and weight loss correct the problem or just lessen any symptoms? Will it continue to progress with treatment or will treatment only slow it down?
I would appreciate your input. Thank you.
Laura
Dear Laura, thank you for your question. I suspect that the left ventricular hypertrophy that was seen on your echocardiogram has been caused by mildly elevated blood pressure. I doubt that you have a genetically transmitted form of ventricular hypertrophy. However, this is not a death sentence and can potentially be reversed with proper control of your blood pressure. The first thing to do is to start a supervised exercise program that you participate daily in and try to lose weight over a gradual period of time. Since you have such poor stamina and exercise tolerance, I think you'll need to enter a cardiac rehabilitation program to learn how to exercise properly. Your physician should be able to refer to a program nearby. Despite weight loss and daily exercise, you may need to take medications to control your blood pressure. There are many different types of blood pressure medications that could be used if needed. Thus, I suggest that you speak with your physician again at this point.
I hope you find this information useful. Information provided in the heart forum is for general purposes only. Only your physician can provide specific diagnoses and therapies. Please feel free to write back with additional questions. Good luck.
If you would like to make an appointment at the Cleveland Clinic Heart Center, please call 1-800-CCF-CARE or inquire online by using the Heart Center website at www.ccf.org/heartcenter. The Heart Center website contains a directory of the cardiology staff that can be used to select the physician best suited to address your cardiac problem.
In Reply to: Need advice on hypertrophy posted by Laura on April 01, 1999 at 19:49:17:
Hi,
I just learned that I have a small area of hypertropy in my heart muscle. They didn't specifically say it was the left ventricle, but the doctor did explain about the muscle growing to try to compensate, so going by other answers in this forum I deduced that's what it is.
I have borderline high blood pressure. It's not even high at all a lot of the time. However, I am breathless after slight exertion and my legs get weak. Then my chest starts to hurt, I start to sweat. It goes away as soon as I sit down and rest. I should also probably tell you that at first I get tremendous pain in my lower back before all that happens. I thought it might be an anxiety attack.
I told my doctor and he did an echocardiogram. This is what he told me exactly. It's a pretty good looking heart. Seems to be pumping ok. The valves look ok. There is a small area of thickened muscle, probably because of high blood pressure. All in all, it's a good heart, just not perfect.
He set me up for a stress test which I know I am going to fail miserably. I have no stamina. I am breathless after walking a block. I have gained a lot of weight in the last couple of years (about 40 pounds) but I have always been overweight. I need to lose about 120 pounds.
I had toxemia during my pregnancy with pretty high blood pressure but it went back down after I delivered.
I would like to know if stress and obesity can cause this condition? I am only 33. My life the past 4 years has been extremely stressful. Is it possible this is what caused the muscle to thicken?
Also, is this reversible? I see you have mentioned that some medicines seem to reverse it. Could you tell me which ones?
Is my heart destined to fail? I feel like I've been given a death sentence.
One more thing. I see some forms of this disorder are genetic. How would one know if that is what they have, if they have no idea of their family history due to adoption? How rare is the genetic type? Is it inevitably fatal?
Will stress reduction and weight loss correct the problem or just lessen any symptoms? Will it continue to progress with treatment or will treatment only slow it down?
I would appreciate your input. Thank you.
Laura
Dear Laura, thank you for your question. I suspect that the left ventricular hypertrophy that was seen on your echocardiogram has been caused by mildly elevated blood pressure. I doubt that you have a genetically transmitted form of ventricular hypertrophy. However, this is not a death sentence and can potentially be reversed with proper control of your blood pressure. The first thing to do is to start a supervised exercise program that you participate daily in and try to lose weight over a gradual period of time. Since you have such poor stamina and exercise tolerance, I think you'll need to enter a cardiac rehabilitation program to learn how to exercise properly. Your physician should be able to refer to a program nearby. Despite weight loss and daily exercise, you may need to take medications to control your blood pressure. There are many different types of blood pressure medications that could be used if needed. Thus, I suggest that you speak with your physician again at this point.
I hope you find this information useful. Information provided in the heart forum is for general purposes only. Only your physician can provide specific diagnoses and therapies. Please feel free to write back with additional questions. Good luck.
If you would like to make an appointment at the Cleveland Clinic Heart Center, please call 1-800-CCF-CARE or inquire online by using the Heart Center website at www.ccf.org/heartcenter. The Heart Center website contains a directory of the cardiology staff that can be used to select the physician best suited to address your cardiac problem.
