I need some opinions, I never had any symptoms until this past year, I am 36 and was very active my youth years, it wasn't until after my past experience that has caused me PTSD in the military that I have fallen into not so in shape, with PTSD I have hypertension with spikes during my high anxiety moments.
The real question is can high blood pressures over the years cause the septum wall to move protruding into the right atrial and causing an ASD to open since my aneurysm is humongous as the cardiologist states. Im not saying its not congenital but I feel like its aggravated or more likely caused by HP in my atrial chambers anyone know of any cardiologist opinions on that?
Hi,
There are degrees of ASA(atrial septal aneurysm) depending on where and how much it protrudes. An ASA can occur because of the ASD as blood goes through the hole. Blood usually flows left to right as pressures are always higher in left atrium. An unstable blood pressure and hypertension are part of the symptoms of an ASD. We all have different symptoms for our ASD and I started with no ASA but like you my ASA was humongous by repair because of the hole in my heart. We don’t really know for me if my hole got larger because of its shape( egg or oval) but the atrial wall was normal for years until it became an ASA. By the way there are two types of hypertension, systemic( what they check on our arm) and pulmonary. Where is the hole on the atrial wall? Take care and keep asking away. Linda
What I do know is initially the cardiologist wrote diastolic dysfunction stage 1 form the echocardiogram and after the TEE her report states
Conclusion " Normal LV size and systolic function. LVEF 60% to 65% with no segmental wall motion abnormality.
Humongous atrial septal aneurysm with a large atrial septal defect (Left to Right shunt by color Doppler), located at the upper portion of the interatrial septum. No intracardiac thrombus is visualized. No significant valvular abnormalities
It does talk about bubble study slight right to left with Valsalva maneuver
hi , internet not responding so using iphone network. read your report. sounds like it is in the superior vena cava area. cardiologist should review different forms of repair. I’m not sure a single hole that large can be repaired by transcatheter repair which is through the groin or they can do actual open heart surgery but you have no valve problems which is great.all this is up to the cardiologist and you. The LVEF is called left ventricle effision fraction ( I believe ) and yours is in a good percentile. you want it between 55 and 75% so the left ventricle is working great. the problem you are showing is that when you bear down that’s the Valsalva maneuver there is a slight change in the Doppler flow which is the color flow that they’re finding that the blood is now going right to left and that in itself is not the best sign. it means when you are overexerting yourself in someway your blood will flow in the opposite direction. it needs to be plugged probably not urgent but that would be your next step. i’m not talking about waiting a year and see how you do I’m talking about much sooner. usually the wall breaks down like yours and the wall called the atrium becomes an aneurysm. not an aneurysm like what you see in the rest of the body. it’s a different kind of aneurysm.The wall or atrium just becomes so weak because of the hole. it can’t function very well anymore and provide the support need and when you plug it or sew it whichever method choosen the wall will have strength in itself. Various methods of repair through the groin are called percutaneous. usually an Amplatzer Septal occluder is used sometimes a Gore helix. I’m not sure what would be done for your case since the position is higher up in the atrium. there are some other plugs out there but you would have to make sure your insurance would cover them. have you had a cardiac catheterization where they check the pressures or hemodynamics of the heart, the valves and how it’s affecting the lungs? that can be done at the same time they put the plug in. Open heart surgery called 0HS is much more extensive and requires a lot more recovery time. And using a plug or also called septal occluder is a much shorter recovery time but they have to put a lot of pressure on the groin to make sure you don’t get a hematoma or a blood clot there. that can be very painful if it occurs but you are usually discharged within 24 hours. Open heart surgery requires you to have at least six most people say eight weeks a lot go 10 to 12 weeks of just not feeling well. Everyone reacts differently to any kind of surgery and plugging the hole no matter how it’s done surgically sewn or actually plugged is a big thing for your body. there are so many of us on this site that have had both types of repairs and with different types of plugs and all have had different recovery times. hope i have given you some info. take care, linda
Here is the first Eco test and the TEE Test if any of it makes sense to you
Solo, we deleted the scans, because they had personal information attached, and we don't want that out on the internet, as we get the occasional spammer. Also, since we aren't doctors, we aren't in a position to offer authoritative opinions on scans. It sounds like you may be ready for a second opinion? I hope a doctor can give you clarification on the BP issues.
I am making arrangements to have Open Heart Surgery at the Cleveland Clinic if they accept me, my atrial septal aneurysm protrudes half way into the right atrium and my ASD is located in the upper portion of the septal wall but not as far as sinus venous type and its large so its been suggested to have the best surgeon because of the high risk
Anyone know what program or software will open the Echo CD as I was given them today but I can't seem to find a way to view them
hi,
try different computers or retry again. sometimes someone good with computers can get them to open. report is only thing that will make any sense if even that. unless knowledgable in radiology and echos in particular often they don’t make much sense.
linda
I am still working on finding a surgeon as the last 3 cardiologist here in Kansas have recommended me to go to the mayo for surgery but I am working out some insurance details but if anyone is interested here is a clip of my TEE echo
6-IMG_2211.jpg (1.82 MB)
Hi soloflight79,
Goodluck with insurance. Wish I knew what TEE looked like and meant. Saw clip.
Linda
Here is a better description picture
5-ScreenShot20150806at8.42.05AM.png (633 KB)
Wow,
What I see is ASA with ASD higher up. Great photo. I take it they said ASD was not interfering with sinus vena cava?
Linda
Thats correct it is in the upper bound of the septal wall not in any of the 3 locations you may find in internet research and as you might notice its not large tissue but the wall is actually weakened and pushed into the right atrial, that partly why in my opinion its not congenital, some or all in my opinion i believe this to be cause by variation in pressure in the atrial's due to cardiac autonomic dysfunction possibly due to toxics in the Gulf War but I'm not a doctor and I am working on getting help with my theory.
