Left atrium 53mm (normal is 19-40)

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Hi all,I just read my cardiologist's echo report. It listed moderate left atrial dilatation (53mm) along with trace mitral and tricuspid enlargement. I was told the test was ok by the nurse a couple of months ago (nothing mentioned about the atrial enlargement). I have this paperwork b/c I'm going back to s Hopkins in October to the sarcoidosis clinic and I requested any records that would be pertinent. I've tried searching online for atrial dilatation and any referance to sarcoidosis or anything else but have been unable to find any useful info. Does anyone have any idea what this means? Thanks for any info you can provide.Blessings,Becky

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[Guest guest]

Hi all,I just read my cardiologist's echo report. It listed moderate left atrial dilatation (53mm) along with trace mitral and tricuspid enlargement. I was told the test was ok by the nurse a couple of months ago (nothing mentioned about the atrial enlargement). I have this paperwork b/c I'm going back to s Hopkins in October to the sarcoidosis clinic and I requested any records that would be pertinent. I've tried searching online for atrial dilatation and any referance to sarcoidosis or anything else but have been unable to find any useful info. Does anyone have any idea what this means? Thanks for any info you can provide.Blessings,Becky

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[Guest guest]

Basically, the atrium enlarges when the work of that part of the heart is increased. that could be explained by the enlarged tricuspid valve causing a "backflow" of blood into the left atrium making that part of the heart work harder to pump it out. Remember, the heart is a muscle and the harder it has to work, the larger it will grow. The valve enlargement could be caused by a number of factors, one of which would be residual scarring from sarcoidosis. Mac Tosh wrote: Hi

all,I just read my cardiologist's echo report. It listed moderate left atrial dilatation (53mm) along with trace mitral and tricuspid enlargement. I was told the test was ok by the nurse a couple of months ago (nothing mentioned about the atrial enlargement). I have this paperwork b/c I'm going back to s Hopkins in October to the sarcoidosis clinic and I requested any records that would be pertinent. I've tried searching online for atrial dilatation and any referance to sarcoidosis or anything else but have been unable to find any useful info. Does anyone have any idea what this means? Thanks for any info you can provide.Blessings,Becky Park yourself in front of a world of choices in alternative vehicles.Visit the Yahoo! Auto Green Center.

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Thank you . I typed "enlargement" when I meant to type "regurgitation" with reference to my two valves (just noticed that b/c of your answer). The valves were only a trace so didn't think too much of that. I just didn't know if anyone else had heard of left atrial dilatation (moderate) and sarcoidosis being related. I do have cardiac sarcoidosis and an AICD so thought maybe this meant it had worsened. I'm concerned that the nurse told me all was okay and then I saw this written on the echo report. I'm beginning to have real trust issues with cardiologists!Blessings,Becky Mc-Welsh wrote: Basically, the atrium enlarges when the work of that part of the heart is increased. that could be explained by the enlarged tricuspid valve causing a "backflow" of blood into the left atrium making that part of the heart work harder to pump it out. Remember, the heart is a muscle and the harder it has to work, the larger it will grow. The valve enlargement could be caused by a number of factors, one of which would be residual scarring from sarcoidosis. Mac Tosh <macandtosh626 (AT) yahoo (DOT) com> wrote: Hi all,I just read my cardiologist's echo report. It listed moderate left atrial dilatation (53mm) along with trace mitral and tricuspid enlargement. I was told the test was ok by

the nurse a couple of months ago (nothing mentioned about the atrial enlargement). I have this paperwork b/c I'm going back to s Hopkins in October to the sarcoidosis clinic and I requested any records that would be pertinent. I've tried searching online for atrial dilatation and any referance to sarcoidosis or anything else but have been unable to find any useful info. Does anyone have any idea what this means? Thanks for any info you can provide.Blessings,Becky Park yourself in front of a world of choices in alternative vehicles.Visit the Yahoo! Auto Green Center. Park yourself in front of a world of choices in alternative vehicles.Visit the Yahoo! Auto Green Center.

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[Guest guest]

Becky, I'm not an expert on cardiac issues, but enlargement & dilatation can mean different things. I would press your cardiologist to talk to the interpreting doctor to clarify what he meant. Heart enlargement would usually refer to thickening muscle, which would make the organ (or involved chamber) get bigger. Dilatation usually means a larger area inside, which could actually mean that the muscular part was thinner. As an example of confusion from this terminology, my brother Buddy was told by a VA doctor several years ago that his pulmonary artery was enlarged, twice as big as it should be. This doctor said he needed surgery, but a second doctor told him that the surgery was too dangerous. I asked Buddy if they meant that the artery wall was thicker, narrowing the inside, or if there was something like an aneurysm, thinning the wall, but making the overall size larger. He couldn't get a clear answer from the doctors. I wish I could go to an appt with him. He doesn't know the right questions to ask, or to ask them to draw a picture of what they are talking about.

I hope this didn't confuse you further! I would ask for the terms to be clarified, and a simple illustration. They don't have to be an artist to do this; I used to do it all the time & people really appreciate it.

Ramblin' Rose

Moderator

A merry heart is good medicine. Proverbs 17:22

Reply-To: Neurosarcoidosis To: Neurosarcoidosis Subject: Re: Left atrium 53mm (normal is 19-40)Date: Fri, 17 Aug 2007 16:21:31 -0700 (PDT)

Thank you . I typed "enlargement" when I meant to type "regurgitation" with reference to my two valves (just noticed that b/c of your answer). The valves were only a trace so didn't think too much of that. I just didn't know if anyone else had heard of left atrial dilatation (moderate) and sarcoidosis being related. I do have cardiac sarcoidosis and an AICD so thought maybe this meant it had worsened. I'm concerned that the nurse told me all was okay and then I saw this written on the echo report. I'm beginning to have real trust issues with cardiologists!Blessings,Becky Mc-Welsh <rn4kidsbps (AT) yahoo (DOT) com> wrote:

Basically, the atrium enlarges when the work of that part of the heart is increased. that could be explained by the enlarged tricuspid valve causing a "backflow" of blood into the left atrium making that part of the heart work harder to pump it out. Remember, the heart is a muscle and the harder it has to work, the larger it will grow. The valve enlargement could be caused by a number of factors, one of which would be residual scarring from sarcoidosis. Mac Tosh <macandtosh626 (AT) yahoo (DOT) com> wrote:

Hi all,I just read my cardiologist's echo report. It listed moderate left atrial dilatation (53mm) along with trace mitral and tricuspid enlargement. I was told the test was ok by the nurse a couple of months ago (nothing mentioned about the atrial enlargement). I have this paperwork b/c I'm going back to s Hopkins in October to the sarcoidosis clinic and I requested any records that would be pertinent. I've tried searching online for atrial dilatation and any referance to sarcoidosis or anything else but have been unable to find any useful info. Does anyone have any idea what this means? Thanks for any info you can provide.Blessings,Becky

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Rose,The interpreting doctor was my cardiologist. He didn't mention this to me at all. I called the office and asked to have my results called to me and the nurse was the one who said all was okay. Then, I just got my paperwork to take to JH and saw the abnormalities that my cardiologist himself had listed. The left atrium is listed as moderate dilatation and the mitral and tricuspid valves have trace regurgitation. I made an appt (none were available until last week of Sept.) to talk with my cardiologist to ask what this all means. What concerns me is that my last chest xray and CT showed cardiomegaly and I actually took those CT films to my cardio and asked him about this (back in June I think) and he said he wasn't great at interpreting CT films...he said my echo was ok (BUT, this was before I recently saw my results written down by HIM). So based on what he actually wrote as his impression of my echo, it was not ok. I think it boils down to many doctors not knowing

about this disease. I had thought that he did but either he doesn't or he's not being straight with me (he probably doesn't even know I have the copies of the reports from his office). Thank you again for your reply.Blessings,BeckyRose wrote: Becky, I'm not an expert on cardiac issues, but enlargement & dilatation can mean different things. I would press your cardiologist to talk to the interpreting doctor to clarify what he meant. Heart

enlargement would usually refer to thickening muscle, which would make the organ (or involved chamber) get bigger. Dilatation usually means a larger area inside, which could actually mean that the muscular part was thinner. As an example of confusion from this terminology, my brother Buddy was told by a VA doctor several years ago that his pulmonary artery was enlarged, twice as big as it should be. This doctor said he needed surgery, but a second doctor told him that the surgery was too dangerous. I asked Buddy if they meant that the artery wall was thicker, narrowing the inside, or if there was something like an aneurysm, thinning the wall, but making the overall size larger. He couldn't get a clear answer from the doctors. I wish I could go to an appt with him. He doesn't know the right questions to ask, or to ask them to draw a picture of what they are talking about. I hope this didn't confuse

you further! I would ask for the terms to be clarified, and a simple illustration. They don't have to be an artist to do this; I used to do it all the time & people really appreciate it. Ramblin' Rose Moderator A merry heart is good medicine. Proverbs 17:22 From: Mac Tosh <macandtosh626 (AT) yahoo (DOT) com>Reply-To: Neurosarcoidosis To: Neurosarcoidosis Subject: Re: Left atrium 53mm (normal is 19-40)Date: Fri, 17 Aug 2007 16:21:31 -0700 (PDT) Thank you . I typed "enlargement" when I meant to type "regurgitation" with reference to my two valves (just noticed that b/c of your answer). The valves were only a trace so didn't think too much of that. I just didn't know if anyone else had heard of left atrial dilatation (moderate) and sarcoidosis being related. I do have cardiac sarcoidosis and an AICD so thought maybe this meant it had worsened. I'm concerned that the nurse told me all was okay and then I saw this written on the echo report. I'm

beginning to have real trust issues with cardiologists!Blessings,Becky Mc-Welsh <rn4kidsbps (AT) yahoo (DOT) com> wrote: Basically, the atrium enlarges when the work of that part of the heart is increased. that could be explained by the enlarged tricuspid valve causing a "backflow" of blood into the left atrium making that part of the heart work harder to pump it out. Remember, the heart is a muscle and the harder it has to work, the larger it will grow. The valve enlargement could be caused by a number of factors, one of which would be residual scarring from sarcoidosis. Mac Tosh <macandtosh626 (AT) yahoo (DOT) com> wrote: Hi

all,I just read my cardiologist's echo report. It listed moderate left atrial dilatation (53mm) along with trace mitral and tricuspid enlargement. I was told the test was ok by the nurse a couple of months ago (nothing mentioned about the atrial enlargement). I have this paperwork b/c I'm going back to s Hopkins in October to the sarcoidosis clinic and I requested any records that would be pertinent. I've tried searching online for atrial dilatation and any referance to sarcoidosis or anything else but have been unable to find any useful info. Does anyone have any idea what this means? Thanks for any info you can provide.Blessings,Becky Park yourself in front of a world of choices in alternative vehicles.Visit the Yahoo! Auto Green Center. Park yourself in front of a world of choices in alternative vehicles.Visit the Yahoo! Auto Green Center. Take the Internet to Go: Yahoo!Go puts the Internet in your pocket: mail, news, photos more. Find a local pizza place, movie theater, and more�.then map the best route!

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Dear Becky: I am a nurse and am beginning to have some real trust issues with cardiologists also/ In August, the cardiac MRI report came back with a diagnosis of "infiltrative cardiomyopathy" with sarcoid noted in my right ventrical the septum (the area that separates the two side of the heart), and the aortic valve. Prednisone was started. I went back for a follow-up MRI, which was read by the same cardio-radiologist who said that there was no further evidence of inflammation. I then get called by my Congestive heart failure cardiologist who tells me that she disagrees with the interpretation of both MRIs and that sho sees NO sarcoidosis. However, my left venricualr ejection fraction (the portion of the blood that is pumped out to the body: has dropped from 75 % (normal) in March, to 65% in April, to 50 % now and that they want to do a dobutamine stress test where they give me a drug to tax the heart to see if it

nduces cardiac problems (short term, they tell me.) I'm a pediatric nurse, so all of this has me confused, and angry because I'm told so many different things and it doesn't make sense (even to a 28-year veteran RN). So you can see, I, too, have some trust issues. rn4kids Mac Tosh wrote: Thank you . I typed "enlargement" when I meant to type "regurgitation" with reference to my two valves (just noticed that b/c of your

answer). The valves were only a trace so didn't think too much of that. I just didn't know if anyone else had heard of left atrial dilatation (moderate) and sarcoidosis being related. I do have cardiac sarcoidosis and an AICD so thought maybe this meant it had worsened. I'm concerned that the nurse told me all was okay and then I saw this written on the echo report. I'm beginning to have real trust issues with cardiologists!Blessings,Becky Mc-Welsh <rn4kidsbps (AT) yahoo (DOT) com> wrote: Basically, the atrium enlarges when the work of that part of the heart is increased. that could be explained by the enlarged tricuspid valve causing a "backflow" of blood into the left atrium making that part of the heart work harder to pump it out. Remember, the heart is a muscle and the harder it has to work, the

larger it will grow. The valve enlargement could be caused by a number of factors, one of which would be residual scarring from sarcoidosis. Mac Tosh <macandtosh626 (AT) yahoo (DOT) com> wrote: Hi all,I just read my cardiologist's echo report. It listed moderate left atrial dilatation (53mm) along with trace mitral and tricuspid enlargement. I was told the test was ok by the nurse a couple of months ago (nothing mentioned about the atrial enlargement). I have this paperwork b/c I'm going back to s Hopkins in October to the sarcoidosis clinic and I requested any records that would be pertinent. I've tried searching online for atrial dilatation and any referance to sarcoidosis or anything else but have been unable to find any useful info. Does anyone have any idea what this means? Thanks

for any info you can provide.Blessings,Becky Park yourself in front of a world of choices in alternative vehicles.Visit the Yahoo! Auto Green Center. Park yourself in front of a world of choices in alternative vehicles.Visit the Yahoo! Auto Green Center. Take the Internet to Go: Yahoo!Go puts the Internet in your pocket: mail, news, photos more.

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Hi ,I'm a nurse too. This is a different side of the fence to be on for anyone medical for sure. I understand how you feel. Your EF dropping so significantly especially in this period of time should have made your doctor sit up and take notice. I refused the med induced stress test and said I wanted the treadmill a couple of yrs ago b/c had the med induced one back in 1995 and they had to give me the IV antidote to reverse the med! My heart took off like a race car and was skipping. Once they gave me the reversal med I was ok but it did alarm me. Prior to doing psych nursing I did NICU and high risk antepartum and postpartum. I really miss nursing. Been on medical leave since Sept. 2005. You'll be in my prayers.Blessings,Becky Mc-Welsh wrote: Dear Becky: I am a nurse and am beginning to have some real trust issues with cardiologists also/ In August, the cardiac MRI report came back with a diagnosis of "infiltrative cardiomyopathy" with sarcoid noted in my right ventrical the septum (the area that separates the two side of the heart), and the aortic valve. Prednisone was started. I went back for a follow-up MRI, which was read by the same cardio-radiologist who said that there was no further evidence of inflammation. I then get called by my Congestive heart failure cardiologist who tells me that she disagrees with the interpretation of both MRIs and that sho sees NO sarcoidosis.

However, my left venricualr ejection fraction (the portion of the blood that is pumped out to the body: has dropped from 75 % (normal) in March, to 65% in April, to 50 % now and that they want to do a dobutamine stress test where they give me a drug to tax the heart to see if it nduces cardiac problems (short term, they tell me.) I'm a pediatric nurse, so all of this has me confused, and angry because I'm told so many different things and it doesn't make sense (even to a 28-year veteran RN). So you can see, I, too, have some trust issues. rn4kids Mac Tosh <macandtosh626 (AT) yahoo (DOT) com> wrote: Thank you . I typed "enlargement" when I meant to type "regurgitation" with reference to my two valves (just noticed that b/c of your answer).

The valves were only a trace so didn't think too much of that. I just didn't know if anyone else had heard of left atrial dilatation (moderate) and sarcoidosis being related. I do have cardiac sarcoidosis and an AICD so thought maybe this meant it had worsened. I'm concerned that the nurse told me all was okay and then I saw this written on the echo report. I'm beginning to have real trust issues with cardiologists!Blessings,Becky Mc-Welsh <rn4kidsbps (AT) yahoo (DOT) com> wrote: Basically, the atrium enlarges when the work of that part of the heart is increased. that could be explained by the enlarged tricuspid valve causing a "backflow" of blood into the left atrium making that part of the heart work harder to pump it out. Remember, the heart is a muscle and the harder it has to work, the larger it will grow. The valve enlargement could be caused by a number of factors, one of which would be residual scarring from sarcoidosis. Mac Tosh <macandtosh626 (AT) yahoo (DOT) com> wrote: Hi all,I just read my cardiologist's echo report. It listed moderate left atrial dilatation (53mm) along with trace mitral and tricuspid enlargement. I was told the test was ok by the nurse a couple of months ago (nothing mentioned about the atrial enlargement). I have this paperwork b/c I'm going back to s Hopkins in October to the sarcoidosis clinic and I requested any records that would be pertinent. I've tried searching online for atrial dilatation and any referance to sarcoidosis or anything else but have been unable to find any useful info. Does anyone have any idea what this means?

Thanks for any info you can provide.Blessings,Becky Park yourself in front of a world of choices in alternative vehicles.Visit the Yahoo! Auto Green Center. Park yourself in front of a world of choices in alternative vehicles.Visit the Yahoo! Auto Green Center. Take the Internet to Go: Yahoo!Go puts the Internet in your pocket: mail, news,

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