left bundle branch block

[jennifereckles1954]

i have left bundle branch block and (prizmetal angina ,'stress related'). I am often tired and lethargic, is that normal?

[LBBBguy]

You can see above what I can say about LBBB. In your case with the angina diagnosis, that sounds more concerning. Is the LBBB a new diagnosis? What about the angina? And is the lethargy a new symptom? And yeah, same thing on the med question. Taking anything that might be causing it? There's a lot I don't know, and I'm certainly no medical expert, but based on what you're saying here, I'd say you should definitely run all of this past your doctor.

[LBBBguy]

I can try. Basically there's an electrical pulse that runs through your heart that makes it beat. It start out in the upper chambers, the atriums, pauses at the AV node before moving down to the lower chambers, the ventricles. There's a pathway that it follows down the middle before splitting off to the right and left. If you've got LBBB, the pathway is blocked and that electrical pulse needs to find another way around, and basically the left ventricle beats a small fraction of a second behind the right ventricle.

Not sure how I got it, if I've always had it, or what--I got diagnosed when I went in for an EP study and ablation for WPW--but my understanding here is that as long as there's not some underlying condition causing it, it's not a big concern. Your cardiologist or EP will likely want to monitor you to see if the condition is staying put or progressing somehow. If it deteriorates for any reason, you may need a pacemaker someday.

I think the most concerning case is when there's an underlying hardening of the arteries that is causing it. Basically, there can be an artery that is basically right on top of your LBB and it hardening can cause a fibrosis of the tissue of the LBB. At 30, this seems an unlikely cause. Other possible causes are things like Endocarditis (also unlikely for a 30 year old) or a physical blow to the chest, but it could also just be congenital.

I wouldn't worry too much about it, or the possibility of a pacemaker. For one, there's not much you can really do about it aside from the monitoring, and two, it's likely not a big deal for a 30 year old.

[Liv1979]

I have just been diagnosed with LBBB and I am only just 30!. Can anyone give me the information in English instead of medical jargon!!!

Liv1979

[Jerry_NJ]

Are you on any medications?  Some have the tired and lethargic side effect from that mediation.  If you are not on an heart medications the possibilities of cause are almost endless, and I wait to see if anyone reading your post who has the same block condition can share with you. In the mean time you may want to try doing a search on "left bundle branch block" here and on the whole of the web.