Heart

[Overeating]

Just received details,I have severe LA dilation mild mitral and aotic regurgitation please tell me what it is. ?

[CDreamer]

LA = Left atria - LA Dilation means that your left atria has stretched (if you have AF that sometimes happens it can be a cause of AF or it can be a consequence). This will affect how efficient your heart is at pumping blood around your body.

There are various valves in your heart and the 2 you mention are the aortic and mitral regurgitation means that your valves aren’t closing properly and like a lid on a bottle which isn’t tightened, a small amount of blood is leaking back in the wrong direction. This will also affect how efficiently your heart is pumps blood around your body.

Hope that helps.

[BobD Volunteer]

Just to add to CDs reply, "mild" is not something to worry about. Most people have some leakage and it has no affect on them. The atrial dilation often improves or rights itself when the AF is controlled or eliminated.

[etheral]

To be complete, you have to rule out pulmonary problems that could result in pulmonary hypertension..although unlikely. Cdreamerand Bob summed it up well.

[saulger]

Were you told the size of the left atrium (in mm or volume)?

[Fibber222]

I was given the exact same report after a camera procedure. I was told that wouldn’t affect my longevity as my ventricles were healthy which do the main work. It doesn’t seem to affect me at the moment. I just try to take the usual AF precautions eg Healthy diet, daily walks of 20-30 mins etc. I hope this helps knowing you are not alone with this problem. I am 79.

[Ppiman]

To add to what others have said, from what I have read, severe atrial enlargement ("SAE") means that the size of the left atrium is around a third larger than normal (i.e. 47mm or more, compared with 27-38mm). When a doctor carries out a catheter ablation to stop atrial fibrillation, an enlarged atrium reduces the chances of success.

The effect of SAE is to make the left atrium less efficient at pumping blood down into the heart's bottom chamber, the left ventricle but gravity and suction from the ventricle do this job well, so the effect isn't always noticeable. In terms of your overall health, the condition of the ventricle is far more important as it is this that pumps oxygenated blood to the organs. From what you've said, this is healthy. The valves allow blood to flow only in one direction, so yours are presently a little less good at this, and this can reduce the amount of blood available for the ventricle to pump to the body, perhaps causing symptoms.

LAE is seen in people who have long-term sleep apnoea, who are naturally large framed or overweight, and in those who have had persistent atrial fibrillation for a long time. Unless the changes to the heart muscle have become permanent, i.e. the cells have undergone hypertrophy and fibrosis, the enlargement can reverse naturally when the cause is removed. It seems quite common for there to be some fibrosis, however.

Steve