just down a&e, been getting some sharp/dull chest pains over the past few months, it doesn’t bother me, just annoying.
Anyway drs sent me to hospital for an ecg.
On my notes it says mitral valve, lvh & lvot.
Can I ask is this actually classed as heart failure?
Just to add my LVOT gradient was calculated at 60 mmHg
whatever that means!
I believe that if you need an interpretation this is best done by a professional, who can explain what each condition actually means.
Maybe phone the BHF helpline?
This is what AI says, still a bit technical though,
The person in this forum post is likely dealing with left ventricular outflow tract (LVOT) obstruction and left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH), possibly related to mitral valve disease. Let’s break down what this means and whether it could be considered heart failure.
1️⃣ What Do These Terms Mean?
• Mitral Valve – This could mean mitral valve disease, such as mitral valve prolapse, regurgitation, or stenosis, which can affect blood flow in the heart.
• LVH (Left Ventricular Hypertrophy) – Thickening of the left ventricle wall, often due to high blood pressure, valve disease, or hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.
• LVOT (Left Ventricular Outflow Tract) Obstruction – A narrowing or blockage in the path that blood takes from the left ventricle to the aorta, making it harder for the heart to pump blood effectively.
• LVOT Gradient of 60 mmHg – This refers to the pressure difference across the outflow tract.
• Mild: <30 mmHg
• Moderate: 30-50 mmHg
• Severe: >50 mmHg (This person has severe obstruction!)
2️⃣ Is This Considered Heart Failure?
• Not necessarily, but it can lead to heart failure if untreated.
• LVOT obstruction and LVH can cause symptoms similar to heart failure, including shortness of breath, chest pain, dizziness, and fatigue.
• Severe LVOT obstruction (like 60 mmHg) is commonly seen in hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy (HOCM), a condition that can lead to heart failure over time.
3️⃣ What Should This Person Do?
• Follow-up with a cardiologist – LVOT obstruction >50 mmHg is significant and may need medication (e.g., beta-blockers, calcium channel blockers) or even surgical intervention (septal myectomy or alcohol ablation) if symptoms worsen.
• Monitor symptoms – If they have dizziness, fainting, severe breathlessness, or palpitations, they should seek urgent medical advice.
• Further testing – An echocardiogram with Doppler and potentially a cardiac MRI would help assess the severity of obstruction and heart function.
4️⃣ Bottom Line
• Severe LVOT obstruction (60 mmHg) is significant and should not be ignored.
• It’s not automatically heart failure, but if left untreated, it can lead to it.
• A cardiology referral is needed ASAP to determine the best treatment approach.
Heart failure is a term usually used instead of the medical term Cardiomyopathy, which means weakened or poorly functioning heart muscleYou heart valves are not part of the muscle, but if they start to fail the heart usually has to pump harder to compensate for that and this can eventually lead to it heart failure - this is why it is important to treat valve failure
Hi. My understanding of heart failure is that the heart is no longer pumping efficiently. I have a lowered left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), where the amount of blood in the left vertical that is then pumped into the arteries is low. Mine is so far well managed by a couple of medications - bisolprolol and dapagliflozin.
Heart failure hasn’t been fixable in the past, because unlike other muscles, the heart muscle doesn’t get to rest. However, very recent studies with patients with a heart pump are curiously suggesting the heart muscle can be repaired in some cases.
You have something wrong with your mitral valve (?). I had a damaged mitral valve which led to blood refluxing back through the valve.
I can’t see how an ECG determines your issues. ECGs monitor electrical impulses. Did you actually have an echocardiogram? That looks at the heart using ultrasound and can see the blood swirling around and where it goes, as well as what the heart looks like inside.
Left ventricular hypertrophy is a thickening of the heart and restricts how well it pumps.
LVOT is some form of obstruction, I think in the mitral valve. I’m guessing it’s limiting how the blood flows into the left ventricle.
Whether all these conditions qualify as heart failure isn’t important. It’s just a layman’s term for the heart not pumping well enough. It sounds like yours isn’t for a variety of reasons.
Your mitral valve and lvot can usually be fixed if it’s deemed necessary. LVH is I think something you’ll have to live with and treat with meds, diet, exercise. The valve repair/replacement may help with that. It didn’t in my case - it took a year after valve surgery to know I had heart failure.
Don’t know why I had an ecg done tbh. I’ve had 3 this year. I had an echo in December which diagnosed the mitral regurgitation and then the consultant confirmed thickness on the left side of heart. Currently waiting on a mri.
Do you know if the thickness (hypertrophy) can repair itself? With/without medication?
Also I’m concerned with the lvot gradient being at 60% can that be reduced?
Other than getting dizzy when I stand up, slight twinges in my chest, I’m not experiencing any other symptoms.
I’ve started running again and feel my energy levels are increasing. Just very stressful not knowing.
Good that you’re able to run. A year after my heart surgery I was getting a lot of heart stress when I exercised, so you’re in a better place than me.
ECGs are pretty normal and easy to do. A lot of people have arrhythmias, so it’s pretty normal to check for that , so it can be excluded. I had atrial flutter after my mitral valve repair. It was exhausting. All fixed, so fortunately I don’t have to live with that.
I don’t have LVH, but what I’ve read suggests it can’t currently be fixed. Heart muscle is different from regular muscle, so that it doesn’t get tired and continues to work even when we’re exhausted. As I said, there’s early findings for people with a heart pump, where the heart muscle can repair when the patient’s resting, much like normal muscle when we rest. The thinking is that the heart pump does the work, allowing the heart to take time off and heal. That sort of treatment is probably years away.
You might find yourself on something like bisolprolol (which I hate). Its job is to protect your heart and stop you overdoing it. It completely buggers up my ability to exercise hard, but it’s either that or hastening my heart failure.
I don’t know anything about LVOT, but from the little I’ve read, mitral valve surgery might well help with that.
Dizziness is when not enough blood gets to the head. Your issues explain that. Low blood pressure is a major cause - most heart meds have dizziness as a significant side effect. You might have to get used to that.
prolapsed mitral valve
mitral valve 
Mitral valve replacement 
Mitral Valve
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