I am 40 years old, female. I have had heart palpitations, racing heart and high blood pressure for over a year now. I feel like I am a little short of breath and doing minimal exertion such as getting dressed or walking up the stairs sets these heart issues off. I currently take 5mg Amlodipine and 2mg Candestartan, which doesn’t seem to be bringing my BP down at all.
I’ve been back and forward to the GP about the BP and ongoing issues and quite frankly they don’t care and just tell me to keep taking the meds. They sent me to A&E back in September where I was referred for an ECHO. I had this at the end of November and the person doing the scan said the images were very clear and everything looked good. Fast forward to last week, the cardiology nurse called and said the images were now unclear and I was being referred for a cardiac MRI. I questioned why as I had been told the echo was fine. The nurse again just told me it was due to unclear images.
I called back the next day as something didn’t seem right and spoke to another nurse, she checked the records and told me that I’m being sent for the MRI as my right ventricle is slightly enlarged. She told me she didn’t know when this would be as they’re busy.
Naturally I am now worried sick. I have pretty significant health anxiety as part of GAD, so I feel like I’m falling apart. Does anyone know what slight right ventricle enlargement means? Do I have heart failure? I have two little ones and I’m worried I won’t get to see them grow up?
Any advice would be great 😊
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Southward82
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having similar issues since April racing heart I can get breathless walking up stairs or just tying my show laces yet some days I walk miles with no breathing trouble
I’m told I don’t have heart failure but have a few things not ideal but ok
do you have Pots? Is heart rate raised on standing but fine lying down? I was diagnosed with Pots as my resting heart rate is fine but if I stand up (not moving ) my heart rate goes way up 120-150 and stays up. It makes me breathless and I tried propanolol but reacted badly to it. It usually comes with low blood pressure which I used have very low now gone very high.
hi I definitely have palpitations more sat or lying down I never seem to have them walking on the flat but do feel breathless on stairs or a incline on the flat a 6-8 mile walk doesn’t bother me at all
It’s strange but if I’m active I’m fine it I sit or do a little more strenuous tasks like lifting I can get breathless .
I’m currently on 15mg when I cut to 5mg I can’t catch my breath at all
The guide is under 100 is normal over 400 possible heart failure I was 180 a grey area but people go into there 1000’s with a normal life but it may give you a answer
Hello. I am in a similar position. Have heart failure. In my mid to late 30s when all this came about and have 3 children.
Do you know what caused this in the first place or when you started noticing symptoms? Iv been trying to get my head around it for years as i was super fit before hand. But here i am after having a suspected heart attack, enlarged heart, heart failure with 12% ejection rate. (now up to 40% with meds).
Personally i dont like the idea of meds and being a prime time customer of big Pharma but they have seemed to work. So the good news is there is treatments that will help improve your condition or relieve your symptoms anyhow. I think i was a gonner without modern medical care back when i was taken into AnE.
The palpations arent very nice to have. Skipped beats, feeling breathless when they happen.. Just awful. But they are mostly harmless. I noticed exercise over the years had improved these and all round symptoms. Virtually making it all vanish. So id definitely start making those positive lifestyle steps to improve your situation before you wait around for the results. Take lots of walks if thats all you can do. Keep active for sure. Itll help mentally too with the worry and all. Time to eat real good too.
With enlarged heart it is usually a sign of the heart working harder as there is a fault. But for them not to pick up on it the first time round, then maybe the problem isnt that obvious and the heart maybe not the worse case. It could just be the start of something so maybe they have spotted it nice and early.
Iv found that the doctors and nurses are obviously working their buts off and sometimes miss things you want to know. So have all your questions ready before you go in to see them. Main thing is not to worry. Its pointless worrying and worrying and stress itself can and does trigger alot of symptoms. Iv found this to be real.. Health anxiety is a battle in itself. The amount of times i have woke during the night or during the day, checking my pulse, rushing to toilet and clinging on for dear life with 999 waiting on my phone screen to be pressed is ridiculous! It aint nice. The symptoms are there, they seem real. But all triggered from the mind! The mind is powerful. Control it, eat good and stay active. Good luck x
Has anything changed in the last year? Your Diet? Your weight? A change of job or home?All these things can start problems off then snowball as you become more anxious.
Ok so I'm not a medic, just a person with heart troubles, but this is what I have learnt.When they do an echo or an MRI if your heart is racing at the time they won't get such clear images. As I understand it this can make the heart seem enlarged even if it isn't.
To have a slight enlargement is not too much to worry about.
They usually say mild, moderate or severe. It sounds like yours, if it is there, is mild. But it sounds like they want to check this out and have more detailed images from an MRI.
This enlargement usually happens if the heart has been working hard, like with an arrhythmia, and the heart gets stretched....like a muscle that has been working too hard.
It doesn't mean you have heart failure. The report that comes with the echo will give a number called an Ejection fraction. This number is used as a guide to indicate heart failure (or heart efficiency) its about the hearts pump action and its efficiency, but the diagnosis is also linked to symptoms.
I don't think worrying about the MRI is helping. I'm sure you know that. Try, I know that's easier said than done, to see this as a good thing that they are wanting to find out more and have clearer images. It doesn't necessarily mean bad news. Just further investigation.
Im 47, have had persistent AF and associated heart issues since my late 20s, and still here. Recovering from a third ablation currently but otherwise still (relatively) fit and active. Working full time, exercising etc. These things require adjustment but thats not necessarily a bad thing.
Try not to think worse case scenario. I know the uncertainty is really hard.
I would love to get to exercise again. Thats the one thing that i hate the most that i was exercising daily and loved fitness training. World turned upside down but thats my aim to be able to train daily again. People should really realise that if you have your health, then you literally have it all. Nothing else matters. Health is wealth.
Hello and Merry Christmas first of all. I can understand how worrying these. Things are, but I believe you can be pretty sure you don't have heart failure with a slightly enlarged right ventricle. Heart failure is they very last stage of a series of symptoms. The enlargement can be caused by many factors, blood pressure being one. And also heart failure is a terrible name.Try to keep calm and ask your gp if they can expedite the Mri so your anxiety does not grow crazy. I had my left ventricle moderately enlarged due to a valve issue, and resolved that, my heart size is now nearly back to normal, I exercise and I'm fine. I know it's easy to panic, but keep calm, try to avoid reading Dr Google stuff and listen to your Doctors. Ask them to explain you things and don't be ad afraid to ask them questions ☺️☺️.
First off, so sorry to hear you're having this experience and are being left with so much uncertainty and worry.
I'm close to your age and was also diagnosed with an enlarged right side of the heart. I'm not seeing the consultant until Thursday but my understanding is that this doesn't mean I'm in Heart Failure, just that one side is having to work a bit harder. Depending on the cause of this imbalance, it may well be something that can be normalised over time if the issue causing the right side to work harder can be addressed. In my case, this is probably a hole in the heart, but it could also be a valve being a bit stiff or narrow (and probably other things too, these are only the possibilities that were discussed with me the last time I saw a doctor).
The waiting for info is terrible. I really recommend calling the BHF helpline and speaking to a cardiac nurse. They obviously can't diagnose you, but they will be able to give advice on your medication and lifestyle and this might help reassure you that you're doing all the right things to look after yourself while you wait for more information.
I have just started tests and imaging and first heart drug on top of all my autoimmune conditions.
Best thing I did was to speak to a British Heart Foundation cardiac nurse the other day. Talked out concerns re meds but also she was able to make sure I understood I needed imaging done before tests etc results could be give. To me and that takes time.
Worth calling them and keep a Diary of what has been done and not done and how you feel which may help reduce the anxiety too.
One day at a time and don’t google too much either x
Just thought I would give an update. I have spoken with my GP. She looked over the ECHO and told me that I have mild enlargement of the left ventricle, slight thickening of the right (however did say depending on the angle this can sometimes appear enlarged) and some back flow in one of the valves, however noted this as ‘trivial’. She told me my heart is noted as being sufficient. Does this sound ok? Is there still cause to be concerned? She has changed my meds and added a diuretic in too, for the blood pressure?
I just don’t know what this has started? My Gran had heart arrhythmia and HBP, not sure this makes a difference? 🥰
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