I week later, and the Lexiscan evaluated, I was back in the doctor's office deciphering my results. Pleasantly surprised, I was four pounds lighter!
I had run amok on the library internet resource grabbing and putting on hold all the available books on the Paleo diet. I wanted to understand EVERYTHING concerning my new nutrient contents that I was ingesting were affecting my body.. Since my system is so hyper sensitive to change, I needed to try and prevent any backlash.
There were some initial bumps. Going grain free and very limited on carbs made me feel TOO energetic. It was quite a dilemma to swallow since I am limited on carbs as it is. I was shocked to feel these new electrical paths course through my body. I filled up on many plumb sweet potatoes those first few days which satiated and made me feel comfortable and more sedate. Surely, filling up on extra tubers wasn't going to have much effect on my weight. But, I was tickled when I stepped on the scale to find two pounds gone the following morning. The following day another two pounds. Then over the rest of the week another two pound loss. So, when I got to the doctor's office my six pounds turned into four loaded down with more clothes and sandals.
"Great, you lost a few pounds," my cardiologist chimed.
"Well, you told me to go on the Paleo. Actually, this is the first time I had any substantial weight loss in ANYTHING I tried over the last seven years since being diagnosed." I retorted. "Most importantly, I sleep less in the afternoon, and I'm noticing my pain levels have decreased significantly."
There were other things flitting through my mind I didn't mention. Like the first time I hooked my bra the following day - there wasn't uncomfortable shoulder pain. Or, the fact I hadn't taken my omeprazole for four days because I haven't experienced any heartburn from GERD. Then there's the fact that I hadn't woken with a headache since I started. Also, I was taking pain medication less and less because I was forgetting to take it. Most importantly, my kids saw me up and around doing things around the house. "Are you doing too much? Go lay down, " they'd say.
"How was your Lexiscan? Looks like there were a few hiccups," he questioned.
"Better than I thought. I was extremely nervous during the procedure, but I noticed the initial affect after the injection wasn't as horrible as I read on the Internet. There was only a slight rise in heartbeat. But, it was afterwards, as the drug was supposed to dissipate that I had issues. My blood pressure kept climbing and climbing to 247/121. They had to give me the antidote. Then it slowly subsided, " I answered.
"Yes, I see. Stay off the Internet. Save yourself emotional trouble next time," he replied.
He then thoroughly explained my results. Due to unwarranted and liable blood pressure I had Left Ventricular Hypertrophy (LVH). Simply stated, the left side of my heart was enlarging because it had to work harder to keep blood flowing due to my hypertension. "Luckily you came in when you did," he added.
Left ventricular hypertrophy
LVH is enlargement and thickening (hypertrophy) of the walls of your heart's main pumping chamber (left ventricle).
Left ventricular hypertrophy can develop in response to some factor — such as high blood pressure or a heart condition — that causes the left ventricle to work harder. As the workload increases, the muscle tissue in the chamber wall thickens, and sometimes the size of the chamber itself also increases. The enlarged heart muscle loses elasticity and eventually may fail to pump with as much force as needed.
Left ventricular hypertrophy is more common in people who have uncontrolled high blood pressure. But no matter what your blood pressure is, developing left ventricular hypertrophy puts you at higher risk of a heart attack and stroke.
Treating high blood pressure can help ease your symptoms and may reverse left ventricular hypertrophy.
Symptoms
Left ventricular hypertrophy usually develops gradually. You may experience no signs or symptoms, especially during the early stages of the condition.
As left ventricular hypertrophy progresses, you may experience:
When to see a doctor
Seek emergency care if:
If you experience mild shortness of breath or other symptoms, such as palpitations, see your doctor.
If you have high blood pressure or another condition that increases your risk of left ventricular hypertrophy, your doctor is likely to recommend regular appointments to monitor your heart. Even if you feel well, you need to have your blood pressure checked annually, or more often if you:
Causes
Left ventricular hypertrophy can occur when some factor makes your heart work harder than normal to pump blood to your body.
Factors that can cause your heart to work harder include:
Risk factors
In addition to hypertension and aortic valve stenosis, factors that increase your risk of left ventricular hypertrophy include:
Complications
Left ventricular hypertrophy changes the structure and working of the heart. The enlarged left ventricle can:
As a result of these changes, complications of left ventricular hypertrophy include:
Prevention
The best way to prevent left ventricular hypertrophy caused by high blood pressure is to maintain healthy blood pressure. To better manage your blood pressure:
"The weight has to come off, and the blood pressure needs to be below 130," he added.
"The extra BP medicine you gave me raises it sometimes for an hour," I questioned.
"I think it's a fluke because of your chemical sensitives. Keep working on it. Your BP is still TOO high," he exclaimed.
"I get it. I'm working on it. I'm off to a good start. I think this diet may be the answer. I feel different. To be honest, some days not so much as it is a different nutrient composition I'm chewing every day. But, on the whole something is happening. I understand I need to lose the weight and make some significant lifestyle changes. I've not been able to loose more than 4 lbs. in a month before. This is shedding off amazingly fast. And, I don't feel deprived. Just sick of sweet potatoes LOL," I answered.
"Good, glad to hear it. I'm going to see you back in three months," he confirmed. "Keep up the good work. You're doing great!"
I had run amok on the library internet resource grabbing and putting on hold all the available books on the Paleo diet. I wanted to understand EVERYTHING concerning my new nutrient contents that I was ingesting were affecting my body.. Since my system is so hyper sensitive to change, I needed to try and prevent any backlash.
There were some initial bumps. Going grain free and very limited on carbs made me feel TOO energetic. It was quite a dilemma to swallow since I am limited on carbs as it is. I was shocked to feel these new electrical paths course through my body. I filled up on many plumb sweet potatoes those first few days which satiated and made me feel comfortable and more sedate. Surely, filling up on extra tubers wasn't going to have much effect on my weight. But, I was tickled when I stepped on the scale to find two pounds gone the following morning. The following day another two pounds. Then over the rest of the week another two pound loss. So, when I got to the doctor's office my six pounds turned into four loaded down with more clothes and sandals.
"Great, you lost a few pounds," my cardiologist chimed.
"Well, you told me to go on the Paleo. Actually, this is the first time I had any substantial weight loss in ANYTHING I tried over the last seven years since being diagnosed." I retorted. "Most importantly, I sleep less in the afternoon, and I'm noticing my pain levels have decreased significantly."
There were other things flitting through my mind I didn't mention. Like the first time I hooked my bra the following day - there wasn't uncomfortable shoulder pain. Or, the fact I hadn't taken my omeprazole for four days because I haven't experienced any heartburn from GERD. Then there's the fact that I hadn't woken with a headache since I started. Also, I was taking pain medication less and less because I was forgetting to take it. Most importantly, my kids saw me up and around doing things around the house. "Are you doing too much? Go lay down, " they'd say.
"How was your Lexiscan? Looks like there were a few hiccups," he questioned.
"Better than I thought. I was extremely nervous during the procedure, but I noticed the initial affect after the injection wasn't as horrible as I read on the Internet. There was only a slight rise in heartbeat. But, it was afterwards, as the drug was supposed to dissipate that I had issues. My blood pressure kept climbing and climbing to 247/121. They had to give me the antidote. Then it slowly subsided, " I answered.
"Yes, I see. Stay off the Internet. Save yourself emotional trouble next time," he replied.
He then thoroughly explained my results. Due to unwarranted and liable blood pressure I had Left Ventricular Hypertrophy (LVH). Simply stated, the left side of my heart was enlarging because it had to work harder to keep blood flowing due to my hypertension. "Luckily you came in when you did," he added.
Left ventricular hypertrophy
LVH is enlargement and thickening (hypertrophy) of the walls of your heart's main pumping chamber (left ventricle).
Left ventricular hypertrophy can develop in response to some factor — such as high blood pressure or a heart condition — that causes the left ventricle to work harder. As the workload increases, the muscle tissue in the chamber wall thickens, and sometimes the size of the chamber itself also increases. The enlarged heart muscle loses elasticity and eventually may fail to pump with as much force as needed.
Left ventricular hypertrophy is more common in people who have uncontrolled high blood pressure. But no matter what your blood pressure is, developing left ventricular hypertrophy puts you at higher risk of a heart attack and stroke.
Treating high blood pressure can help ease your symptoms and may reverse left ventricular hypertrophy.
Symptoms
Left ventricular hypertrophy usually develops gradually. You may experience no signs or symptoms, especially during the early stages of the condition.
As left ventricular hypertrophy progresses, you may experience:
- Shortness of breath
- Fatigue
- Chest pain, often after exercising
- Sensation of rapid, fluttering or pounding heartbeats (palpitations)
- Dizziness or fainting
When to see a doctor
Seek emergency care if:
- You feel chest pain that lasts more than a few minutes
- You have severe difficulty breathing
- You have severe lightheadedness or lose consciousness
If you experience mild shortness of breath or other symptoms, such as palpitations, see your doctor.
If you have high blood pressure or another condition that increases your risk of left ventricular hypertrophy, your doctor is likely to recommend regular appointments to monitor your heart. Even if you feel well, you need to have your blood pressure checked annually, or more often if you:
- Smoke
- Are overweight
- Have other conditions that increase the risk of high blood pressure
Causes
Left ventricular hypertrophy can occur when some factor makes your heart work harder than normal to pump blood to your body.
Factors that can cause your heart to work harder include:
- High blood pressure (hypertension). This is the most common cause of left ventricular hypertrophy. More than one-third of people show evidence of left ventricular hypertrophy at the time of their diagnosis with hypertension.
- Aortic valve stenosis. This disease is a narrowing of the aortic valve that separates the left ventricle from the large blood vessel leaving your heart (aorta). The narrowing of the aortic valve requires the left ventricle to work harder to pump blood into the aorta.
- Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. This genetic disease occurs when the heart muscle becomes abnormally thick, even with completely normal blood pressure, making it harder for the heart to pump blood.
- Athletic training. Intense, prolonged endurance and strength training can cause the heart to adapt to handle the extra workload. It's unclear whether this athletic type of left ventricle hypertrophy can lead to stiffening of the heart muscle and disease.
Risk factors
In addition to hypertension and aortic valve stenosis, factors that increase your risk of left ventricular hypertrophy include:
- Age. Left ventricular hypertrophy is more common in older people.
- Weight. Being overweight increases your risk of high blood pressure and left ventricular hypertrophy.
- Family history. Certain genetic conditions are associated with developing left ventricular hypertrophy.
- Diabetes. Left ventricular hypertrophy has been found to be linked to a higher risk of diabetes.
- Race. African-Americans are at higher risk of left ventricular hypertrophy than are white people with similar blood pressure measurements.
- Sex. Women with hypertension are at higher risk of left ventricular hypertrophy than are men with similar blood pressure measurements.
Complications
Left ventricular hypertrophy changes the structure and working of the heart. The enlarged left ventricle can:
- Weaken
- Stiffen and lose elasticity, preventing the chamber from filling properly and increasing pressure in the heart
- Compress the chamber's blood vessels (coronary arteries) and restrict its supply of blood
As a result of these changes, complications of left ventricular hypertrophy include:
- Reduced blood supply to the heart
- Inability of the heart to pump enough blood to your body (heart failure)
- Abnormal heart rhythm (arrhythmia)
- Irregular, often rapid heartbeat (atrial fibrillation) that decreases blood flow to the body
- Insufficient supply of oxygen to the heart (ischemic heart disease)
- Stroke
- Sudden, unexpected loss of heart function, breathing and consciousness (sudden cardiac arrest)
Prevention
The best way to prevent left ventricular hypertrophy caused by high blood pressure is to maintain healthy blood pressure. To better manage your blood pressure:
- Monitor high blood pressure. Purchase a home blood pressure measuring device and check your blood pressure frequently. Schedule regular checkups with your doctor.
- Make time for physical activity. Regular physical activity helps to lower blood pressure and keep it at normal levels. Aim for 30 minutes of moderate physical activity most days of the week.
- Eat a healthy diet. Avoid foods that are high in saturated fat and salt, and eat more fruits and vegetables. Avoid alcoholic beverages or drink them in moderation.
- Quit smoking. Giving up smoking improves your overall health and prevents heart attacks.
"The weight has to come off, and the blood pressure needs to be below 130," he added.
"The extra BP medicine you gave me raises it sometimes for an hour," I questioned.
"I think it's a fluke because of your chemical sensitives. Keep working on it. Your BP is still TOO high," he exclaimed.
"I get it. I'm working on it. I'm off to a good start. I think this diet may be the answer. I feel different. To be honest, some days not so much as it is a different nutrient composition I'm chewing every day. But, on the whole something is happening. I understand I need to lose the weight and make some significant lifestyle changes. I've not been able to loose more than 4 lbs. in a month before. This is shedding off amazingly fast. And, I don't feel deprived. Just sick of sweet potatoes LOL," I answered.
"Good, glad to hear it. I'm going to see you back in three months," he confirmed. "Keep up the good work. You're doing great!"
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