Enlarged heart

[Shirley Dickey]

Is it normal to have an enlarged heart 7 weeks post op...:confused2:
I cant get a clear answer from cardio or my pcp :mad2:
All I keep being told is that I am stable !!!! I want to me normal not just stable
Is it enlarged due to surgery ? will it go back to normal size ?
Can anyone here help me understand this ?

 

[Lynlw]

Do you know how enlarged it is,(mild moderate etc) and what your measurements of your ventricles and rest of your heart are? Chances are it was enlarged BEFORE surgery when your heart had to work harder, which if that was the case it can improve over the next few months-year as your heart remodels itself.

 

[normofthenorth]

It's not unusual to have an enlarged heart -- and especially an enlarged LV -- both before and after AVR, because that's part of how the heart compensates for AVStenosis. But if that's what you've got, from an AVR more than two years ago (you give your ages, but not the dates), then you may have a permanent enlargement from back then. (I'm not an "expert" on MVs, but stenosis there would also make the heart work harder, which would normally lead to enlargement, I'd think.)

I was told that my heart was somewhat enlarged a year or two pre-AVR, and I was still "acing" my stress tests and vying for MVP on volleyball teams with a bunch of 30-somethings, so it seemed fine to me. I've also been told that my LV hypertrophy has faded in my most recent echo (3-month post-AVR?), though I'm not sure it's back to "normal" or ever will be.

Besides, "normal" is over-rated! You should want to be stable, healthy, and fully functional! (Normal 60-somethings don't play competitive volleyball with a bunch of 30-somethings! Who needs normal? )

 

[ken taylor]

From my research most but not all hearts go back to there normal size after avr but it takes up to 15 months.

 

[escargome]

From my research most but not all hearts go back to there normal size after avr but it takes up to 15 months.

Ken,
In my case I have to disagree. Prior to my AVR I had slight heart enlargement. Now 3 years later, the enlargement is roughly the same. Just started my life with a new cardio so we will see what he thinks. My previous cardio was a cavalier kind of guy who it seemed to believe I had nothing to worry about.

 

[dick0236]

Is it normal to have an enlarged heart 7 weeks post op...:confused2:
I cant get a clear answer from cardio or my pcp :mad2:
All I keep being told is that I am stable !!!! I want to me normal not just stable
Is it enlarged due to surgery ? will it go back to normal size ?
Can anyone here help me understand this ?

Enlargement of the heart is usually caused by the heart having to work harder to overcome a defective valve leakage. Surgery would not normally cause enlargement....as far as I know. After surgery, the heart can relax and the heart should return to normal, or near normal, size. My heart had begun to enlarge prior to my surgery, but I have not had a doc make any mention of an enlarged heart for many years, so I guess it has returned to normal size.

 

[Mentu]

My experience is pretty much the same as Norm, Dick & Chris. My LV was described as having "mild concentric hypertrophy". Heart enlargement or "hypertrophy" results from the need of the heart to compensate for some problem such as a stenotic heart valve. Essentially, the heart has to work harder to keep the blood supply flowing normally. It used to be thought that hypertrophy was reduced only during the first few months after surgery, however, recent research suggests that improvement can continue for years. Your Cardio cannot tell you how much the enlargement may improve but will monitor it over time. With the new heart valves, however, your heart no longer needs to compensate for them so your heart now has a better chance of healing.

Larry

 

[Shirley Dickey]

I do not know the the measurements , I had an xray to look at my lungs due to low grade fever and lungs was clear but still showed fluid in chest cavity from surgery and report stated that my heart was enlarged I am 7 weeks post op and never heard anything about an enlarged heart so I am a lil concerened why the docs never said anything...
Do I have anything to worry about , makes me like I should worry when they only tell me I am stable right now , makes me think something else can go wrong :confused2:.
Dont want to be a worry wort just want clarification and they wont say . I go back to cardio in 3 months for echo I will push the fact to know more then...
Thanks for all the responses...

 

[ken taylor]

Like every one is saying , If you had a small valve opening, your heart is a muscle it got bigger and the left side probley stronger to push the blood through the small opening. Now after AVR you now have a big opening and the left side {muscle } does not have to work as hard and in most cases in time it should go back to normal. Talk to your new DR. and I do not think you have any thing to wory about. Mine is inlarged also, At 9 weeks post AVR im walking 7 miles a day Im not scared.

 

[Shirley Dickey]

Thanks for the reassursance and encouragement that everything is ok
I feel good and can breath better since the 2nd surgery
Thanks again and god bless

 

[catwoman]

My left atrium was enlarged pre-op. About 1 year post-op, it was returning to a more normal size.

 

[Jason]

You might want to get copies of your echo's, if you had them done prior to the surgery. The notes would say whether you had enlarged heart or enlarged LV (LVH) prior to your surgery, which from what I have gathered is fairly common. I was unaware that I had enlarged heart before surgery, as the docs just didn't mention it as it wasn't alarming to them. After surgery my surgeon mentioned that over the next 6 months to a year my heart would remodel and reduce in size... I explained that I didn't know my heart was enlarged, with some alarm in my voice, and her reply was "It was as big as it needed to be with the impingement of your valve. It will now probably remodel to the size it needs to be, which will be smaller." After that it seemed to me that 'Normal' was different for each person and was the size that your heart needed to be to supply your body with blood. Just thought I would pass along my surgeon's words of wisdom.

 

[Shirley Dickey]

You might want to get copies of your echo's, if you had them done prior to the surgery. The notes would say whether you had enlarged heart or enlarged LV (LVH) prior to your surgery, which from what I have gathered is fairly common. I was unaware that I had enlarged heart before surgery, as the docs just didn't mention it as it wasn't alarming to them. After surgery my surgeon mentioned that over the next 6 months to a year my heart would remodel and reduce in size... I explained that I didn't know my heart was enlarged, with some alarm in my voice, and her reply was "It was as big as it needed to be with the impingement of your valve. It will now probably remodel to the size it needs to be, which will be smaller." After that it seemed to me that 'Normal' was different for each person and was the size that your heart needed to be to supply your body with blood. Just thought I would pass along my surgeon's words of wisdom.

Thanks , I have a much better understaning now which makes me feel better