Answer:
Dear
Carlos,
The left
side has to pump oxygenated blood throughout the whole body.
This
requires a stronger pump than the right hand side so the cardiac muscle
surrounding the left ventricle is thicker.
The left
heart chamber is typically larger than the right because of the left
ventricle.
Cardiomyopathy
is a disease that enlarges and weakens the heart muscle.
Cardiomyopathy
is the condition in which the muscle of the heart is abnormal.
The term
is most commonly used in reference to an abnormally large, baggy heart
("dilated") with reduced ability to contract.
In hypertrophic
cardiomyopathy, the muscle mass of the left ventricle is larger than
normal.
Treatment
for hypertrophic cardiomyopathy depends on the condition of the heart
and the severity of symptoms.
Myectomy
is the surgical removal of part of the overgrown septal muscle to
decrease the outflow tract obstruction.
Myectomy
is open-heart surgery and should be done at an experienced medical
center. Myectomy is performed when medication no longer relieves symptoms.
In septal
ablation, an alcohol solution is injected into an artery supplying
the part of the thickened muscle that causes the obstruction.
An automatic
implantable defibrillator (AICD) might be recommended in some patients
who are considered very high risk
Pacemakers
have been used to relieve outflow tract obstruction in the heart that
is caused by hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.
Medications
help relax the heart and reduce the degree of obstruction so the heart
can pump more efficiently. Beta-blockers and calcium channel blockers
slow the heart rate, decrease contractions and relax the heart muscle.
Anti-arrhythmia drugs decrease contractions to prevent abnormal rhythms
and slow the heart rate.
Left
ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) is the thickening of the myocardium
(muscle) of the left ventricle of the heart.
The enlargement
is not permanent in all cases, and in some cases the growth can regress
with the reduction of blood pressure
Treatment
for left ventricular hypertrophy focuses on the underlying cause of
the condition. Depending on the cause, treatment may involve medication
or surgery.
Some
high blood pressure drugs may prevent further enlargement of left
ventricle muscle tissue and may even shrink your hypertrophic muscles.
Blood pressure drugs that may reverse muscle growth include the following:
-Thiazide
diuretics
-Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors
-Angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs)
-Beta blockers
-Calcium channel blockers
If left
ventricular hypertrophy is caused by aortic valve stenosis, the patient
may have surgery to remove the narrow valve and replace it with either
an artificial valve or a tissue valve from a pig, cow or human-cadaver
donor.
If the
patient has aortic valve regurgitation, the leaky valve may be surgically
repaired or replaced.
Dilated
cardiomyopathy is the most common type of cardiomyopathy (enlarged
heart).
Arrhythmogenic
Right Ventricular Dysplasia (ARVD) is a rare type of enlarged heart
that develops when muscle tissue in the right ventricle dies and is
replaced by scar tissue. Problems with the heart's electrical signal
develop causing arrhythmia. Unlike other forms of an enlarged heart,
ARVD normally develops in teenagers and young adults. It often causes
sudden cardiac death in young athletes.
Young
athletes should be screened with two common heart tests, not just
one.
The two
heart tests are an echocardiogram, or ECHO, which measures
heart size and pumping function and checks for faulty heart valves,
and an electrocardiogram, or EKG, which assesses the heart's
electrical rhythms.
