ECHO translation [large pic]

[Deedee]

Would anyone be willing to look at this ECHO report and translate any of it into plain English or discuss it with me?



I'm not trying to substitute a talk with a doc, I just wanna discuss it like you were my friends and we were sitting around
having pizza talking about our tests... is that okay? Just to compare notes, so to speak.

Because I'd love to have you as friends and I really really would share my pizza with you if you were here.


Deedee

[Lisa Salberg]

Re: ECHO translation [large pic]

In short.. Ya got HCM

You have a large septum 23mm -it should be about 10mm.
Your atrium looks good, not enlarged
The walls of your heart are thick - typical HCM.

You do not have "mass hypertophy" - that is 30mm or greater. Your numbers seem rather normal for HCM.

Does that help-- Hey Pizza sounds good --but I have to think that NJ pizza and your idea of pizza aint the same thing - just some Jersey girl humor for you!

Lisa

[Deedee]

Re: ECHO translation [large pic]

Ahhh so that's what the 23 (7-11) means... it should be between 7 and 11, ok now I can understand those are ranges. See I didn't even understand how to read this really, much less what it MEANS.

Any idea what the doppler results say or mean???

Thanks for the info so far, it's not very easy to understand without help and I really do appreciate it so much!

Deedee

[Cynaburst]

Re: ECHO translation [large pic]

O.K, Correct me if I am wrong Lisa, but I believe that you were not obstructed when this echo was done and when you were resting. That doesn't mean that you don't have a provocable gradient (i.e. with exercise or some other maneuver or drugs), or that you might have a resting gradient some other time, but at the time your echo was done, you had no obstruction.

[mtlieb]

Re: ECHO translation [large pic]

DeeDee,

I'm not sure how familiar you are with the concept of obstruction, but it can be kind of confusing when you're just learning all this. As far as I understand the process, think of your LVOT (Left Ventricular Outflow Tract) as if you were holding your thumb over the end of a garden hose... the more you constrict the opening with your thumb, the faster the water squirts out (LVOT velocity), and the more pressure that builds up behind it (outflow gradient). It is a concern for HCM'ers, because with obstruction, your heart has to work much harder trying to pump the blood through the opening. Your doctor noted that you do not have an obstruction, although it was tested only at rest. You will find that just about every echo you have done shows slightly different measurements, so try not to get hung up on just this one. I kinda wish my own echo looked as good as yours

Jim

[Deedee]

Re: ECHO translation [large pic]

Ooooh thanks soooo much! I had no idea what obstruction meant and I guessed something else entirely, it is so great to have people to talk to, wow! I do ask questions at the doctor's but I'm too agitated to remember much of what he says and it's so many things at once. At least here I can tackle one question at a time, it's SO WONDERFUL.



I guess I have just not wanted to pay attention for so many years that I almost made sure I DIDN'T learn anything because that would make it more like it wasn't happening to me.

The last couple of weeks have taught me that something is happening that I don't have the luxury of ignoring anymore I suppose. I know some of my data is pretty light weight... I wish each and every one of you could have all the good numbers I have, I will gladly share those along with the pizza, just c'mon over, and tip the pizza delivery man for me! hehe

Deedee

ps Lisa - I know good pizza, I'm really from New York hehe I just traded a crowded with people island for a crowded with bears, cougars and orca whales one. Same dog-eat-dog world but bigger teeth! hehe

[Lisa Salberg]

Re: ECHO translation [large pic]

This is a resting echo - there is no resting gradient from what this says. A stress Echo would be a likely step to see if you have a provocable gradient.
Lisa

[Deedee]

Re: ECHO translation [large pic]

Okay I should see my cardiologist this week and I will ask for a stress ECHO or if maybe I should have one and see what he says.

I have continued to have some soreness but have been mostly better after the other day... but strange sudden pressure on my breathing or palpitations while at complete rest have contined so I'm just not feeling very confident even tho nothing "happened" something definately did change as these symptomatic feelings are relatively new and have not really abated.

Thanks for all info! I wonder where I'd be without this group.

Deedee

[Lisa Salberg]

Re: ECHO translation [large pic]

The truth is HCM can change in a heart beat - no pun intended -
While someone may live a "normal" life for a long time with the diagnosis - one day the symptoms can change and it is unclear as to WHY?
Sometimes the tide can turn back and the symptoms revert back to what they had been - other times they can get progressively more intense.
Only time can tell.

Be well!

Lisa

[mtlieb]

Re: ECHO translation [large pic]

I've been trying to figure out the name of the actress that DeeDee's pic reminds me of and i think i finally figured it out... Jeanne Tripplehorn. Don't ya think?

[Deedee]

Re: ECHO translation [large pic]

Oooh ok I didn't know that symptoms could come and go like that. This is my first real strong set of symptoms and it's been going on for a couple of weeks. So great, it's very encouraging that this is not just a run-away train and that it might even lay low again. Thanks so much for sharing that. The most offhand remarks can mean so much to people, you have no idea. Especially when they've got nobody with HCM around to talk to like me.

I tried so hard to figure out what I had done wrong that brought about all these symptoms all at once like this. The only change I could come up with was always sleeping on my left side lately due to having problems with my stomach if I try to lay on the right side. I just did not really come up with any reason that made good sense, but I tried.

Jim - this is not the "Time To Laugh" forum LOL but I guess I should say thanks as I'd rather remind someone of a starlet than somebody's old cow bessie or something... even tho I never heard of that actress before, had to look it up.

Deedee

[Deedee]

Re: ECHO translation [large pic]

Hey Jim? If you're into distributed computing, like SETI, maybe you'd also be interesting in a similar distributed computing project that looks for clues to cure cancer instead of looking for aliens?

Here's some info on the cancer project:
http://www.grid.org/projects/cancer/

Not that aliens found with SETI can't cure diseases... but this is a little more down to earth, hehe

I donated about 32,810 hours of processing time on one of their projects a couple years ago, and it never caused me any problems or slowdowns. Was a sorta neat way to feel I was making a contribution. Thought you might be interested.

Deedee

[mtlieb]

Re: ECHO translation [large pic]

Sorry Deedee... it's just little green men for me i'm afraid

One thing i forgot to mention in my post to you about obstruction, is how to figure out what your gradient is... it seems like they rarely write it down on the report. Take your LVOT velocity (in meters/sec)... square it... then multiply that number by four. This will tell you roughly what your gradient is in mmHg.

Using your LVOT velocity of 1.2 m/s... your gradient (at rest) would be 5.76 mmHg.

Jim