You don't really hear much about left ventricular hypertrophy or as it's known ENLARGEMENT OF THE HEART.
Let alone in COPD or LUNG DISEASE ..... How many lung diseased HAVE been told they have left ventricular hypertrophy befour they have had heart event THAT resulted in AE stay.
If answers is none THAT sounds about right AND that is why am fed up .... given my leg swelling breathlessness dizzyness mild hypertension I could not understand why I felt so unwell.
That was till I looked at my ecg trace from 3 lead ecg I have ... top picture is my trace AND am sure when you have depressed T waves as illustrated THATs what is called left ventricular hypertrophy SO why are doctors doing nothing and where are my ace inhibitors.
Might be incidental on healthy person BUT on lung diseased can effect mortality especially if untreated in copd lung dieaeed.
Bottom picture was my brothers ecg I used as control ... clearly am annoyed how when lung diseased such issues that are incidental in someone healthy can go unchecked in copd suffers.
Clearly I will be having words with my gp about ecg I had that paramedics said was abnormal yet my doctor said was ok.
Hope you like cat picture .... that's illustration of how am feeling given my investigations
Let's hope BLF can be tad open about left ventricular hypertrophy and copd
Good morning Jeff, can I join you and howl like the cat. I appreciate what you are saying. My comprehension is once you have a chronic illness all the other is blamed on that if it makes sense. I like you have symptoms that are not COPD related but can be caused by the lung deficiency COPD causes, in the same way Systemic arthritises can cause things like imbalance in the blood, damage the lungs, damage the kidneys and eventually damage the heart, of course Jeff these are the worst scenerio, however maybe like you say some steps should be taken to support preventative medicine once diagnosed with certain chronic illness. It is a bit like diabetes can cause blindness hence the reason for regular eye tests.Maybe the NHS should be looking at the wider effects on health of diagnosed chronically sick and ways to combat it or prevent it. Hope your doctor listens to you when you next see him/her , as keeping people out of hospital should be a long term goal for all patients not just those with certain health issues. I truely beleive we should have clinics just for ongoing health issues in chronically sick not requiring consultant or GP input. But we don't have enough nurses ect to man that sort of thing. Anyway have a good day Jeff speak again soon. Ps I am diagnosed as having a thickened heart muscle for over ten years now which could cause breathing issues, no treatment so you are not alone.
morning Jeff hope you are feeling a bit better today. In my area we have respiratory community teams but you have to be very disabled or end stage before they come out it seems. But you should be able to have extra help as you are a carer for your father. Not sure what the criteria is for community respiratory care nurses. Got a cough myself this morning not sure if its the dry weather yesterday, or doing the garden or a virus catching up with me anyway just see how it goes. Take careand look after yourself till you feel a little better. Ask the doc about community nurses next time you go.
Hi Katie totaly forgot and end stage and criteria.
Thats one thing don't mind forgeting about mind.
Everyones got that cough AND that nurovirus is doing rounds early.
Anyway have good'en n take care too
Hi Jeff, for two years I kept telling my GP and my chest consultant that I was really really breathless and kept having feelings as though I was going to faint. My chest consultant kept telling me I wasn't managing my lungs properly ( after 63 years!). My GP kep sending samples off. Finally, just as I was crawling out of my GPs surgery I said 'my daughter says this is my heart'. She sighed, felt my wrist and jumped off the chair. ECG immediately, heart rate 179 and all over the place. That night the heart man virtually carried me down the corridor to his room.
Left ventricular cardiomyopathy and AF !
It is now all controlled with drugs but if it hadn't been for my daughter I would have been toast.
Every time I read about this LP, it beggars belief that your elevated heart rate wasn't spotted. Did they not check your 02 sats or take your blood pressure regularly while you were telling them about this extra breathlessness ? It's terrifying to realise that doctors can be so negligent but we come across examples of it all the time.
I had a holter test this week. This means wearing a monitor to measure your heart rate over 24 hours. I've been having a problem with palpitations and rapid heartbeat for a few months now. But typically, the day I had the monitor was one of the best days I'd had in ages with minimal sob and no palpitations.
Thanks for your concern BJ. My 02 never drops below 98 so I guess that this fooled them but you are right. The GP should have found the AF at least. Since I have had beta blockers to slow my heartrate and digoxin to help it pump the irregular beat is still there but I don"t feel it. I am refusing to take anticoagulants for the AF because when I do I get bleeds from my lungs. I do hope that you get yours sorted out.xx
Hi Jeff, I think you need to have a good talk with your doctor. You have have rather jumped to conclusions.
1) Your ECG does not show definite LVH – the difference between your brother's ECG and yours (assuming they were both properly attached to your arms and legs) is your heart is activated in a slightly different way, probably related to your hypertension (called left axis deviation).
2) LVH does NOT mean an enlarged heart, it means one with a thicker muscular wall. If you do have LVH it is because your left ventricle has adapted over the years to having to work harder to pump against your higher blood pressure (just like you would have bigger biceps if you were lifting weights all the time).
3) The left ventricle is not affected by your lungs – it is the RIGHT ventricle that pumps blood through them. So if your COPD is very severe you might get right ventricular hypertrophy, which would have the opposite effect on your ECG (right axis deviation).
4) Hypertension is easily treated. You need to get a home BP machine (e.g. Omron wrist-type) and check it yourself regularly – ideally the higher figure should be less than 130 on average. If it's not under good control you need more meds (preferably 2-3 different types together).
5) If you're worried about your COPD you can get a portable pulse oximeter for about £30 and check your oxygen saturation. If it's above 90% when walking fast your lungs are working fine. If you're breathless and the O₂ is above 90% it means you are hyperventillating so you just need to slow down your breathing.
"but is easer said than done" – sure, you're right and there is not much help available for you in the medical set-up. You could find a yoga class very useful as they focus on breathing control and some of their techniques are just what I think you need. But first you should get a portable pulse oximeter to make sure that your lungs are OK – it's well worth the money to have that reassurance.
Leg swelling could be caused by general fluid overload or could be a side effect of blood pressure tablets (such as amlodipine). If it's fluid overload then a mild diuretic medication (water tablets) would help. if it's caused by the amlodipine (or something similar), which is very good treatment for BP, the best solution is special elastic stockings up to your knees to push the fluid back into your circulation – you need to ask your doctor about this.
It's very difficult trying to stay on top of things when you're managing a few conditions, Jeff. And for you, looking after your father with dementia, it's even harder. You are right to keep an eye on things because if you don't, chances are nobody else will. I'd love to be able to have total faith in my doctors and I do try to but with the state of the health service today, nobody has the luxury of standing back and putting their life in somebody else's hands. Look after yourself Jeff, I hope your dad is doing okay.
"You are right to keep an eye on things because if you don't, chances are nobody else will." – unfortunately this is true. The docs want to help but they are rushed off their feet. So the best thing is to ask them how you can check your condition e.g. with symptom diary and regular weighing. Modern technology can be a great help with simple home BP machines, peak flow meters, pulse oximeters and even ECG recorders as phone attachments, mostly for less than £100 pounds.
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