medical term explanation: Hi all, Could... - British Heart Fou...

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medical term explanation

23 Replies

Hi all, Could someone explain what is meant by "non-dilated left ventricle".

Have googled it but still unsure.

Thanks

EDIT Thanks for the replies......I've now got the info that I needed from an article I was given a link to. Got a much clearer list of questions now ready for the GP.

23 Replies
Tos92 profile image
Tos92

Hi  Hidden

I’m not sure either. And I presume I’d be in the same position as you after googling it. Your doctor or cardiologist would be the best people to explain what the term means and how it affects you.

There may be other members on the forum who are more knowledgeable about this. I hope they come by to offer some insight.

All the best.

Tos

in reply toTos92

Thanks for replying, I've picked up so much heart related medical understanding this year from reading explanations on here that I thought I'd try this much quicker route. It took 7 months to be sent test results and only after going through PALS (thanks to those on here who explained the need to self advocate and explaining about PALS) . No Cardiology appointment till the end of June (should have been early March) As for a GP, I had a wait of 22 days for my last phone appointment so not hopeful I'll get any explanation quickly. (Despite them receiving the report last week and being told to discuss it with me it is apparently still waiting for a doctor to read it) .

Tos92 profile image
Tos92 in reply to

Oh I see. Gosh, 22 days for a phone appointment with a GP is a long wait. I usually phone at 8am in the morning for a same day appointment. I thought that was protocol in most U.K. surgeries. Perhaps not. The only other thing I can add, hopefully it’s not considered as giving medical advice, but it does say “non-dilated” which seems to imply that the left ventricle might be okay and that you’re in no immediate danger. That’s just my interpretation of it.

Sorry couldn’t be of more help!

hello

what I find works on most occasions is if you google / search the term but add NHS on the end your likely to get reliable information albeit high level information. One has to have some trust in the NHS and it’s information, also try it by adding BHF.

can’t really go wrong there finding some if not all information. Obviously we are trusting it to be accurate but it’s better than random internet result.

If your not in UK then look for a source that is equivalent.

By recommending these sources I’m fairly sure I’m not giving medical advice etc.

Hope they help. It’s a start.

Good luck

in reply to

Thanks but unfortunately in this case my usual go to medical sites including nhs are not being much help

No worries........I did try to word it to sneak it in i.e. just need the generic heart science no advice or opinions asked for.

MichaelJH profile image
MichaelJHHeart Star

Why not ring the BHF nurses in the morning. They are qualified to answer your question.

in reply toMichaelJH

Think I'll need to do just that. Surprised though that there are no forum members who have the same issue.

Gumbie_Cat profile image
Gumbie_Cat

If you search for ‘dilated left ventricle” then you will get the following BHF page bhf.org.uk/informationsuppo...

I would think this means that you do not have a dilated left ventricle. As ever, you are best to check with your GP.

in reply toGumbie_Cat

And that's the problem I have trying to find the info I need about non-dilated, if it was dilated there is lots of easy to access information.

Gumbie_Cat profile image
Gumbie_Cat in reply to

I agree, and thought it was simply stating that your left ventricle is not dilated. That will need to be viewed in the results of other tests, by your medical provider.

Lezzers profile image
Lezzers

I'll admit I googled it!! Does this help?ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl....

in reply toLezzers

Thank You....Edit This is brilliant, the highlighted definition is really clear and easy to understand. Must admit to enjoying reading lots of the other (irrelevant for me) information in this article. Reading about the heart could become a new hobby 😀

Lezzers profile image
Lezzers in reply to

Glad it helped you. Tbh I only read the highlighted bit, it was too late at night for me to read the rest & try & process it.

Milkfairy profile image
MilkfairyHeart Star

Cardiomyopathy UK have a helpline too, they maybe able to help you further. cardiomyopathy.org/

in reply toMilkfairy

Thank You

soppysokes profile image
soppysokes

i was told by cardio that dilated left ventricle meant that the heart struggles a bit to pump blood and that affects ejection fraction reading and can be helped with lowering BP and helping diastolic lowering. non dilated meant that wasnt the case.praps you can query that with cardio/GP to check.

Fullofheart profile image
Fullofheart

I think people on the forum would need more info to help/ to know if this is something they have experience of. As it stands it just says that the left ventricle is not enlarged but I guess there is more to the story. I have enlarged left ventricle, for example, but on its own that doesn't meant too much. It's part of a wider heart health picture.

I would suggest ringing the bhf helpline and reading out the letter or your notes on what was said to give as much detail as possible.

Hope that helps.

"Non-dilated left ventricle" is just a way of saying that the left ventricle is not dilated.

wilsond profile image
wilsond

It just means your upper chamber of your heart has not become enlarged/ floppy due to strain such as over activity through arrhythmia . It is good news,means the ejection fraction will be efficient ( the amount of blood pumped out to the body is sufficient)

in reply towilsond

Unfortunately it appears not to work quite like that and low EF despite no dilation is how my letter is now translating. Interesting article link provided in one of the reply posts. (Cardiologist reducing a few sentences to a few words- but really only meant for GP!) Thanks to all of the replies I now have much greater clarity of what is not the cause which will make it easier to discuss what could be the cause with the GP. Thanks

Larneybuds profile image
Larneybuds

Good morning.....if you want a fairly rapid response you could always try BHF nurses..I'm sure they would know . Good luck x

wilsond profile image
wilsond

Ah read it wrong. But still applies as above,positive news.x

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