Echo Results to rule out lvh & mvp

[Michaelccc]

i'm 35 years old 5'6 160 pounds. havent exersized in almost 2 years. no drinking , no drugs heavy smokings. slightly high cholesterol.

had this echo done a month ago. had a visit with cardio a week ago who suspected mitral valve prolapse. possible lvh also showed on numerous ekgs although most doctors say no i don't have lvh.

first cardio from a month ago says no lvh, no mvp
here are the findings

LEFT VENTRICLE - Diastolic Dimension 4.4 cm, Systolic Dimension 3.3 cm, IVS 1.2 cm, Posterior Wall 1.2 cm, Left Atrial Dimension 4 cm,

AORTA -  Aortic Root 2.5 cm

EJECTION FRACTION - 60 %

MITRAL - Peak Gradient 3.1 mmHg, Peak Vel E/A  88/88 Cm/s,  Dec Time 108 msec, E/A Ratio 1

1. So do i or do i not have lvh or mvp? first cardio after looking at this says no to both, second cardio has not looked at it yet but he thinks he hears a click suspecting mvp

2. i do not exersize which tells me if i do have mild lvh it can't be due to exersize right? although i used to work out quiet a lot a couple of years ago and grew up very active

3. if i do have lvh will it progress?

4. is lvh reversible? if so how?

5. i was told for months since starting  pvcs that with an "otherwise healthy heart" pvcs are not to be worried about. does this change things now?

[Toneman]

I feel your pain... I just had an echo done two weeks ago, the tech kept telling me everthing looked great. I called and got the prliminary results over the phone (big mistake) and was told I have mild LVH for the first time. I do exerise daily, 45 mins on a treadmill to burn 500 calories.

Long story short, I had the face to face follow up with my cardilogist this week to go over the report and asked her about the LVH. She told me that mild LVH starts at 1.3 cm and mine measured 1.2 cm, no problem yet just something to watch. That's part of the confusion, it depends on what you read but I saw reports that LVH starts at 1.2 cm, another report showed 1.3 cm and another 1.5 cm. The Cleveland Clinc reports that mild LVH starts at 1.3 cm, they agree with my doctor and that's what I'm going with! She also said that exercise would most likely not cause this unless you are an elite athlete. I also have a slightly dialated left atrium, which could be exercise related. All valves good with only trace leakage in my triscuspid valve which she says is a very normal finding. Normal LV function and size and everything else within normal limits. I asked the question "do I have a structureally normal heart" to which she responded yes and any PVC's were completely normal. My guess that is the same case with you. Have you asked your cardio this question?

I agree with everyone else, get on a exercise program to get you mind off your heart. One of the reasons I do it is beacuse of the peace of mind that if I can make my target heart rate goals without symptoms then the odds are the ticker is fine, which is what my cardio also says. Not to mention the benefit of loosing 60 pounds in 13 months. When we finished our meeting, she actually told me I no longer need a cardiologist and does not feel annual check ups are necessary and if I want to repeat the echo in 2 or 3 years, let my family doctor know, otherwise they'll just be there if I ever need them

Good Luck.

[pvcqueen]

ants?  elephants bulking up? anxiety? huh?  But what is wrong with his heart?  Can anybody answer THAT?  There must be something wrong.....he got some PVCs.  This is too confusing for me.

[often]

MICHAEL.....stop.....you are obsessing over ants and letting the elephant bulk up.  You continue to fret over this and you WILL make yourself sick.  Stress can cause issues.  You have been told by the docs, by everyone on this board who has the same issues and the knowledge...what will it take to convince you?  As Brat said, start concentrating on #2..the exercise will keep you busy and you won't be sitting sitting here obsessing..not to mention the exercise can only help.  You are wasting your youth!  Don't let you life slip by while you worry about dying.  In the end you will have missed it all.

[often]

in the analogy above...the ants are the pvc's      the elephant the anxiety....

[Momto3]

Listen to your doctor.  Sometimes the reports generate a diagnosis based on the data supplied.  It is the doctor's job to correlate the patient's symptoms to the clinical data and interpret the test.  In other words, the computer generated diagnosis is based on the "data" from your EKG or echo or whatever test you have.  The doctor must put the whole picture together to form an accurate diagnosis.

If I went by the diagnoses printed out on my reports, things look quite a bit worse than they really are.  My EKGs print out things like "long QT, possible prior myocardial infarction, etc.  However, after my doctor reads the report, she correlates her clinical evaluation to the tests and comes up with a "real" diagnosis.

Repeated echos say my atrial volume index is "significantly abnormal" when in fact it is not.  My doctor explained that the computer made assumptions about me and came up with its own conclusions. That's why it is SO important to wait until the doctor gets the results and interprets the tests to your clinical presentation (symptoms, appearance, etc).

Several years back, I went for a routine echo and the report said that my mitral valve was "SEVERELY" leaking."  Some follow up tests showed otherwise.  So, what I'm saying is, don't go by the written words as much as what your doctor tells you.  Let it go and get on with your life.  Exercise, join that triathalon and forget about trying to find something wrong.  Your heart is fine, except for the anxiety.  Have a good day!

[Michaelccc]

hi Florida. thanks for your response. see thats the whole thing. do i have a "otherwise healthy heart"
i see in most posts here that pvcs do not pose a danger if you have a "healthy heart" yes the first cardio told me that i do not have mvp nor do i have LVH. but the second cardio i went to just to make sure i was fine told me that he hears a click and that he would confirm it with an echo. so i went to the first cardio and got the results. report says mitral valve is normal , however the report also states that i have mild LVH .  1.2 cm which puts me right on the border just going into LVH basically. originally the reason they did an echo is because tons of ekgs said possible LVH. after the echo the first cardio told me no lvh no anything. so now i'm wondering why would this report state mild LVH the echo report. so that's why i'm concerned because i'm guessing this means i no longer am considered a "healthy heart patient" with pvcs??? very confsused and worried. Also i have no clue why i would have even mild lvh. i'm not overweight and i do not have high blood pressure. although i probably get spikes of high blood pressure from anxiety disorder when it acts up