died from ,,cardiomegaly with left ventricular hypertrophy

[tomcat47]

Please explain,,my young brother died in 2003,he was 39 never smoked a day in his life,wasnt on any meds,,                  worked 12 plus hours a day,,he was found dead at 5 am flat on the floor,,on the death certificate is says cause of death ,,,cardiomegaly with left ventricular hypertrophy,,I read articles on it it none of them really says it causes death,,Im 48 and My heart doctor said I have an enarlged heart caused buy high blood going untreated,,,any help would be apprieceated,,

[TaraRodney]

I am 29 and my husband is 30, we don't have health insurance, but he went to the doctor two weeks ago thinking he had asthma, he couldn't breath well, coughing, sweating, tired, the doc took an x ray of his heart and found the left was enlarged. Told him he needed to get his blood pressure down and to loose weight. He is 6ft and 240 lbs. Not too overweight. I'm worried and he's not worried enough. Another doctor gave him diet pills and I'm afraid these are going to kill him. He chews skoal, and likes mexican food. Earlier tonight he had a chest pain that left his forhead covered in sweat. We have 4 kids and I'm awake right now worrying I'll be left alone to raise our family. How real are my fears?

[kenkeith]

The death certificate reflects end-stage HCM (manifesting as left ventricular systolic dysfunction and LV dilatation)....complications of HCM include atrial fibrillation, ventricular arrhythmias, congestive heart failure, and sudden cardiac death. Those with HCM, can have manifestation of systolic left ventricular dysfunction, (thinning of the left ventricular wall, and dilation of the ventricular cavity).  

Often inherited is (obstructed) HCM, but the condition can be the result of damaged heart muscle. It is true left ventricular hypertrophy usually involves thickening of the proximal portion of the interventricular septum, resulting in narrowing of the left ventricle output tract (LVOT). Consequently, the left ventricle has to generate higher pressures to overcome the LVOT obstruction (gradient pressure) and increase (dilate) LV chamber size notwithstanding the crowding out effect of septal thickness.

[grendslori]

You never mentioned High Blood Pressure at all, so I'm not sure how that's has come into the picture. Left Ventricular Hypertrophy (LVH) is where a part of the septum, or more rarely, the ventricular walls themselves become thickened. This disease can cause a sudden death event due to arrhythmias. It is generally genetic in nature and therefore I would certainly see to it that all of your family members are checked out to make sure it is not found in any other family members. This disease can affect even infants. Many people make the mistake of thinking that this is Dilated Cardiomyopthy (DCM) where the walls of the heart become thin and the pumping action of the heart isn't good. The disease your brother died from is the exact opposite of this. He died from a disease called Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM) where the walls are too thick and because of that, they become still and cannot allow blood to fill into the heart chambers; it is a Diastolic form of heart failure as opposed to a Systolic form of heart failure. (DCM) In Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathies, strokes are not a problem; they only are in Dilated Cardiomyopathies. Your brother may not have had HBP at all, but a genetic disease process going on. About 2% of the population with HCM die suddenly, for most with the disease those are pretty good odds; to those who have lost family members, the 2% turns into 100%. I'm really sorry for your loss.  

[EchoTech]

It might not be so much tha the heart killed him as it was the high blood pressure.  He could have had a stroke and that could have killed him.  What the heart shows is that the hypertension went on for a long time.  The heart is a muscle, and liek any muscle when you work it, it gets bigger to adapt to the load.  What causes the load?  The resistance in the blood vessels (hypertension)
  The bottomline is get your high blood pressure treated or it can kill you, just as it may have your brother. You may feel crappy when they start you on them, and it might take up to 6 months to get used to them, but for your own sake you need to take care of it.

[Flycaster305]

I'm not a health professional, but like many people who monitor and contribute on this forum I have cardiomegaly: basically an enlarged heart.  There are many, many reasons why a heart becomes enlarged.  Certainly, high blood pressure is one of those reasons.  Think of cardiomegaly as a symptom, not a disease in itself.  I suppose a good analogy would be a fever of 102 degrees --- there are many causes, but the condition causes alarm.
I most certainly would listen to what your heart doctor is telling you, and follow his advice.  I'm guessing that medications, diet and exercise are a big part of what he is telling you.  The fact that there is a family history as well as a diagnosis suggests you should take his advice very seriously.  Best wishes, and keep up informed.  You have brought up an interesting topic.