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.
Seek emergency care if:
- You feel chest pain that lasts more than a few minutes.
- You have severe difficulty breathing
- You have severe, recurring light headedness or lose consciousness
- If you experience mild shortness of breath or other symptoms, such as palpitations
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.
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 tissue flap (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, 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.
In addition to hypertension and aortic valve stenosis, factors that increase your risk for 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 hypertrophy.
- 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.
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:
- Interruption of 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)
- Enlargement of a section of the aorta (aortic root dilation)
- Stroke
- Sudden, unexpected loss of heart function, breathing and consciousness (sudden cardiac arrest)
