Left Ventricular Hypertrophy

Left Ventricular Hypertrophy

Left ventricular hypertrophy is the action of getting thickened the muscle of the left ventricle of the heart. Left ventricular hypertrophy is the natural result of the excessive strength straining and aerobic exercises. But the medical references prefer to regard it as the natural reaction of the heart to the cardiovascular disease. It is, basically, one of the types of heart disease.

The most amazing thing is that, left ventricular hypertrophy, by itself, is hardly considered as a severe disease, or at all a disease. But , the fact remains that it is the cause of a number of diseases that often turn to be quite serious. It can cause some diseases like Dilated Cardiomyopathy and Hypertropic Cardiomyopathy, that affect the muscles of the heart, and even leads to a sudden death of the affected person.

Left ventricular hypertrophy also causes tremendously high blood pressure. The very health problems and the health hazards are the symptoms and the signs of left ventricular hypertrophy. The person affected by left ventricular hypertrophy is found to take shorter breaths, since, he or she is simply unable to take natural length of breaths. The sufferer may also feel a pain in the chest. This pain can even turn to be very acute at times. In this condition, the patient should be given immediate treatment, since, this acute pain in the chest can even result in stroke or heart attack, either a mild one or even a severe one.

If a person suffers from left ventricular hypertrophy, he or she may also have very irregular heartbeats, which is quite sure a terrible discomfort for the person who is suffering. Dizziness is another sign of left ventricular hypertrophy. The affected person feels dizzy almost all the time. In addition to that, the person also might be feeling a reeling sensation in the head. Any person who is affected by left ventricular hypertrophy, must have the symptom of fainting frequently. The duration of the fainting may not be too long. If a person is found to be showing most of the signs and symptoms, mentioned here, he or she should be immediately given proper medication under the guidance of a veteran cardio expert.

Some of the causes of left ventricular hypertrophy are aortic stenosis, aortic valve regurgitation and extreme hypertension. Farther studies in this field have revealed that the aged persons are the easier targets of left ventricular hypertrophy, since most of the people who have been victimized by left ventricular hypertrophy are aged above 55. Therefore the older you grow, the more enriched is the possibility of getting attacked by left ventricular hypertrophy.

Take care of the weight of your body. Be healthy. But, do not gain extra weight. Have the habit of doing regular physical exercises that will help you losing extra weights, if you have gained any.

If any coronary disease prevails in the heart of a person, the possibility of his getting attacked by left ventricular hypertrophy. Coronary diseases also add to the troubles of left ventricular hypertrophy.

Aortic Valve

Aortic valve

What an aortic valve is:

The heart valve present in between the left ventricle and aorta is called aortic valve which is a tricuspid valve. In some people about 1% of the population has inborn bicuspid aortic valve. The valve is named so because it is present in between the left ventricle and aorta as well as it controls the flux of blood from left ventricle towards aorta.

Function:

When there is a ventricular systole the pressure in the left ventricle increases and this leads to the greater pressure in the left ventricle as compared to the aorta and ultimately this all results in the opening of the aortic valve. As the aortic valve the blood flux moves from left ventricle into the aorta. At the completion of the ventricular systole the ventricular pressure drops suddenly and at the same time the pressure in the aorta rises and this leads to the closure of the aortic valve. This opening and closing of the aortic valve produces the heart sound S2.

Disorders relating aortic valve:

There are two types of disorders responsible for the improper working of the aortic valve and those are:

• Aortic stenosis
• Aortic regurgitation

Aortic stenosis stands for the incomplete opening of the aortic valve hence blood doesn’t completely move into the aorta while aortic regurgitation is the disorder in which the aortic valve doesn’t close properly and in return the blood moves towards the wrong direction i.e. back towards the left ventricle is the disorder in which the aortic valve doesn’t close properly and in return the blood moves towards the wrong direction i.e. back towards the left ventricle.

Causes of aortic valve disorders:

Rheumatic fever is the common cause of both aortic stenosis and aortic regurgitation while other causes of aortic stenosis are degenerative calcification and inborn bicuspid aortic valve. Enlargement of the aorta, infective endocarditis, myxomatous, Marfan’s syndrome and breakdown of the aortic valve are responsible for the aortic valve regurgitation.

Bicuspid aortic valve:

It is an inborn disorder of aortic valve and it is present in only 1% of the population. In this congenital disorder there are two leaflets of the aortic valve instead of the three leaflets. This disorder is left undiagnosed until the symptoms of aortic stenosis occur in later life. The occurrence of aortic stenosis in bicuspid aortic valve people is faster then the people with normal tricuspid aortic valve. Turner’s syndrome is also a cause of associated bicuspid aortic valve.

Aortic valve replacement:

The replacement of a diseased aortic valve with a new healthy valve is called aortic valve replacement. There are different diseases which can leads to the aortic valve replacement. Two conditions can lead to aortic valve replacement which is either the leakage of the aortic valve or the partial closure of the aortic valve. There are further two types of aortic valve replacement which depends upon the type of valve used to replace the diseased aortic valve. There are two types of aortic valves which are:

• Biological aortic valve:
This type of aortic valve is extracted from a living being and is placed in the diseased patient.

• Mechanical valve:
This type of valve is also called artificial aortic valve as this valve is made up of cloth, metal or artificial tissues.