Enlarged Ventricle?

[Sughrue]

Hey, I recently had a radiological stress test. The only thing they found was that I had an enlarged left ventricle. No one (other than me) seemed disturbed by this.

When I asked them what caused it, they told me high blood pressure. My blood pressure is low/normal. The nurse/tech then asked me if I worked out; when I said yes, she said 'well, that's what caused it then.'

Has anyone else heard of this? Is this something I need to worry about? Haven't yet followed up with my doctor, see him in a month or so.

Sughrue

 

[ultraconsult]

Enlarged LV can occour with anabolic steroid use. Did they tell you how thick the muscle was? You should not have any chamber dilatation from use, but hypertrophy is not uncommon you need to find out waht you septal thickness and LV mas measure.

 

[Sughrue]

I haven't done a real cycle yet (just now getting ready to).... at that point, all I had done was just finish a 4 week 1-ad cycle the week before the stress test. I doubt that was enough to create that kind of hypertrophy in my heart, but who knows...

I appreciate the info, I'll ask my doc those questions.

 

[luciasb]

Enlarged LV can occour with anabolic steroid use. Did they tell you how thick the muscle was? You should not have any chamber dilatation from use, but hypertrophy is not uncommon you need to find out waht you septal thickness and LV mas measure.

Agree with above, weightlifters typically have higher wall thickness that the general population b/c of the work being done, so prolly not that big of a deal. You do need to find out what the thickness, problem is the person making the measurements. I assume they did a stress echocardiogram. Thats where they use ultrasound to look at the Left Ventricle they can take measurements to see if its nl, but often a slight movement will add or subtract a mm or two, so even if its within normal limits, it can be easily overestimated. Normal is 11mm and under, so you just need to find out what the number is. I assume that you dont have some hypertrophic disease b/c they wouldve easily recognized that without making measurements. SO I wouldnt be too worried about it at all.
Enlarged heart usually refers to dilatation or the cavity that fills with blood is enlarged. That can happen in a disease state or it may be large if youre a large person. But sounds like theyre talking about lv hypertrophy.

 

[JibbyJabba]

Geoff Garst is the man you need to talk with...

He's a cardiac perfutionst (sp?) and he seriously knows his shit when it comes to the heart.

Bump for Geoff to respond...

 

[liftsiron]

If no one is concerned you likly have a condition known as "athlete's heart" this condition occurs in runners as well as weight trainers with or without steroids and is not in itself cause for concern.

 

[stealth]

A cariologist said I have thicker walls and an enlarged ventricle. He also said bot to worry. Everything was functioning just fine after a batttery of tests.

 

[liftsiron]

A cariologist said I have thicker walls and an enlarged ventricle. He also said bot to worry. Everything was functioning just fine after a batttery of tests.

This is actually vary common and not a cause for any concern.

 

[argent]

agreed

 

[ultraconsult]

LVH

You need to find out what your LV mass calc was. Also ejection fraction. Athletes heart will show boarderline LVH with good LV function typically low Heart Rate. Any hsitory of Hypertension? There are a large number of physicians without the expertise to manage this.

If it was insignificant find out if they put it in your chart. Cardiomegaly (enlarged heart) diagnosis will make it very hard to get insurance in the future.

 

[Silent Method]

I believe liftsiron is on track. Athletes heart is a normal condition of heart hypertrophy experienced by athletes. Many doctors don't know a thing about it and may mistake the condition as a problem when it is not.

If the doctors were not concerned then the hypertrophy is not outside of acceptable parameters. If it makes you feel better, set up an annual or bi-annual test to keep track of the enlargement.

 

[Stryker1992]

Okay guys listen up:

Athletic heart syndrome does not occur in weight liter, it is a result of chronic cardiovascular training and only occurs in a small percentage of very highly trained athletes. Secondly, athlete’s heart or athletic heart syndrome is not a mechanism of the ventricles but has to do with the SA-Node, your hearts pacemaker. This results in a 2nd degree heart block which is normal adaptation if you are a highly endurance trained athlete.

A LV enlargement or hypertrophy occurs in most CV and power trained athletes and is very, very normal. Your heart is a muscle and adapts to training like all the others. The enlarged LV is good, very good and means your heart is stronger and EF increases meaning your heart fatigues less!

 

[Silent Method]

Okay guys listen up:

Athletic heart syndrome does not occur in weight liter, it is a result of chronic cardiovascular training and only occurs in a small percentage of very highly trained athletes. Secondly, athlete’s heart or athletic heart syndrome is not a mechanism of the ventricles but has to do with the SA-Node, your hearts pacemaker. This results in a 2nd degree heart block which is normal adaptation if you are a highly endurance trained athlete.

A LV enlargement or hypertrophy occurs in most CV and power trained athletes and is very, very normal. Your heart is a muscle and adapts to training like all the others. The enlarged LV is good, very good and means your heart is stronger and EF increases meaning your heart fatigues less!

Weight lifters are not power trained athletes?

Dig a little deeper. Athlete’s heart is common in weight training athletes who engage in moderate to high intensity resistance work.

With weight training the most obvious adaptation seen is an increase ventricular wall thickness. In endurance (read cardio) athletes an increase in wall thickness is seen, but additional characteristics include an increase in LV stroke volume (correlated with physical chamber enlargement) and both LV and RV end diastolic diameters are greater.

 

[Stryker1992]

by power i did not mean strength.

watts=power output.

 

[juicenstein]

yes

It has been known to enlarge the ventricals...They did a study on power lifters hearts and almost all of them have enlarged heart...I was gonna be a cardiologist,,Dont worry as long as it was from lifting u will be fine...I have a valve problem with my heart and roids never bother it...

 

[Silent Method]

by power i did not mean strength.

watts=power output.

Regardless, "athlete's heart" is not uncommon in many primarily weight trained athletes.

 

[boogersnax]

Had a stress test myself not long ago for a discovery made from a CAT scan. My superior vena cava was pinched, not closed, but nearly. It turns out to have been a congenital defect. The superior vena cave is mainly to drain the blood from the upper part of the body. The vascular surgeon said that my azygous vein, that is present on the right side of the posterior thorax and abdomen was handling the drainage. Some times this is refered to a seconday circular sysyem. It is formed by the confluence of the right ascending lumbar vein with the right subcostal vein. Also, it is connected to the inferior vena cava by what is usually a fibrous remnant: this represents the caudal section of the developmental right posterior cardinal vein.

But I digress...

Enlargement of the LV is not uncommon in athletes, even those who do not use steroids. The big deal is if you have any back flow in the heart valves and the output from the heart that involves pumping efficiency.

 

[40butpumpin]

based on my research, liftsiron and Silent Method are both on the money (as usual).

 

[Silent Method]

based on my research, liftsiron and Silent Method are both on the money (as usual).

LOL, my "research" is based on a physiologist I work with here at school that did some of the early introductory research on athletes heart.

 

[40butpumpin]

I hear you bro, I have this myself so of course I've researched the hell out of it (and I'll be 43 in a few months and I train like nobody's business).

 

[KOArtist]

ever done clen?? I thought that was a culprit of LVH too.