left ventricular diastolic dysfunction

i was told i have this after an echo my ejection fraction is 65%

so i know what this can lead to but can this be fixed?

will it only get worse ?

is CHF down the road???

[chevy man]

:(

[Brooke_38]

I'm a bit perplexed by your question...Normal EF is between 55-75% and yours is perfect at 65%...what needs to be fixed?

[chevy man]

i was told i have left ventricular diastolic dysfunction


and left ventricular hypertrophy

so i know what this can lead to but can this be fixed?

will it only get worse ?

is CHF down the road???

[Brooke_38]

When was this discovered? The last that we had converesed you mentioned that you had gone through numerous tests that included: Echo's, Angios, and many EKGs including holter monitoring...all that showed a healthy functioning heart.

Is this a new finding? As I mentoined, the EF is currently great. Do you have any other symptoms? I would imagine that you are now under the watchful eye of your Dr. It's hard for me to predict whether or not you are destined for CHF. What are your current recommendations from your Dr. I can't imagine he gave you this dx and sent you on your way...

[cindy707]

I agree w. Brooke your EF is great...the big question chevy man is did your heart doc tell you on your exit consult that congestive heart failure was in your future w. your diagnosis.  You are pretty young and atypically CHF rears its ugly head in people alot older than you  and there are alot of other factors involved w. that diagnosis..as far as it being progressive only your doc knows the answer to that question my friend because he/she knows your entire medical history where we are only at point w. you.  I don;t know so much as being "fixed" as being treatable chevy man. I am sure your doc told you that keeping your blood pressure under control is a major plus on this to help yourself.  There are obviously varying degrees of your diagnosis based upon how long it went on..so much depends on so many factors,,,,obviously w. your EF in such great shape your heart unless i am missing something here isn't having any issues w. pumping the blood in and out so that is a major plus....sometimes not completely knowing all of the answers to all of our questions makes it a little harder on us.  Is is controllable?  Yep with lifestyle changes, etc. are far as "fixing" it...you are the navigator on that one my friend...talk to your doc...tell him/her all of your worst fears, what you have heard, what you have read, etc. and write them out 1-whatever and sit down w. the doc to get all of your answers so you can move on with your life and not let this take your life over...you are wayyyy too young to be going thru this worry and with that worry comes increased blood pressure and w. that puts your situation in a precarious situation meaning you can make it worse on yourself and your heart by worrying..call the doc thats why they make the big bucks.....

[chevy man]

okay im 39 yrs 6'2 320lbs.African amer.

no diabetes but i do have hypertension

Is this a new finding? yes as of tues my dr (non Cardio) told mr this and she was kinda nonchalant like its just one of those things and i'm like WHAT!!

so i got copies faxed them to my cardio and i see him monday  

Do you have any other symptoms?   yes the same as always chest pain dizziness

and sometimes after exertion mild discomfort and out of breath  

[kevk]

With diastolic dysfunction your heart is stiff and does not fill with enough blood. You can still have a normal EF but have heart failure symptoms. First thing I would talk to your cardio doctor about is to rule out Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy ( HCM ).

If your hypertrophy is do to high BP your heart can return to normal with the right meds. I have had moderate diastolic dysfunction with concentric hypertrophy  for a good many years now but I have HCM. I wouldn`t freak out about it, But it is something you want to stay on top of . I would expect your doctor to put you on a beta blocker to help your heart relax and lower your blood pressure.

[chevy man]

so far no Cardiomyopathy but i go in on monday

[chevy man]

okay i saw my cardio today and he said workout and see him in 2 months

[cindy707]

Man o man i absolutely love posts like yours Chevy Man....i haven't laughed this hard all day!!!!  Sounds like your doc and my doc are best friends or they are reading the same manual......i think that is totally amazingly fantastic news...you got your life back now what to do with it Chevy Man....if i were you i would buy a lotto ticket!!!!  Congrats...you so deserve this great news after all of your worrying......

[chevy man]

what do you mean

[chevy man]

well?

[grendslori]

I would get a second opinion from a place that actualy understands HCM!! My daughter had a severe form of Concentric HCM. This problem isn't a joking matter, it can be life threatening. It can be genetic in nature so you need to find out whether any family members died at an early age. Because the walls are too thick they cannot relax and fill with blood properly and you will have chest pain due to a lack of bloodflow to the heart muscle wall which has outstripped the bloodflow. Most HCM patients have a normal EF%, that is certainly not uncommo and should not be used to judge heart failure in the first place. CHF is judged by EF%s, lung function and kidney function combined. Will you eventually go into CHF? Maybe, maybe not. Most HCM patients never go into CHF, they stay in a diastolic form of heart failure. Most patients can live a fairly normal life with some limitations, only about 5% end up needing a heart transplant.

[chevy man]

what makes you think this may be Concentric HCM? or are you sayin follow get a second opinion just to be sure

[grendslori]

I'm not saying you have concentric, I said my daughter had that. (Concentric is where all of the ventricular walls are hypertrophied, which includes the right ventricle as well as the left and both sides of the septum). HBP can cause HCM, but so can genetics. You really need to see a doctor who has experience with HCM and not someone who that's this so lightly. It can be a killer, just from the arrhythmias it can cause.  

[chevy man]

oh okay kool