left atrial enlargement

[suniedi]

Hello,

I'm male, 60 years old, just diagnosed with Prostate cancer. I had EKG done and the nurse said that I have left atrial enlargment. My questions: Is that something serious? Do you think they will postpone my prostate surgery ?

What exactly left atrial englarment means ?

thank you. I'm freaked out.

[erijon]

Enlarged left atriums are usually due to high blood pressure and the biggest risk is that of Afib which can cause blood to pool in the LA and form a clot which could travel to the brain and cause a stroke. An EKG is NOT a very reliable test for an enlarged left atrium, you should have an echo to confirm. I have one, cardiologist said it was no big deal and just be normal for me. It needs to be checked every few years but that's really all. I doubt if it would delay your surgery unless there were some other changes in your EKG.

Hope this helps,

Jon

[suniedi]

thank you erijon!