enlarged heart?

[smc246]

So I went for an accupuncture treatment due to my anxiety related to my PVC'S and nsvt and after she listened to my heart she told me it was enlarged slightly.  Well that has done wonders for my anxiety. She is an MD from China. My question is can you diagnose an enlarged heart just by listening to it?  I had a nuclear stress test and echo in 2007 and my cardiologist told me everything was normal.  I do have mild MVP.  Thanks!

[CFS56]

Don't know.  But if you are seen regularly by your cardiologist I wouldn't worry about it.  If you aren't it may be worth it to make an appt so you can stop worrying about it.

[MichelleP_3811]

Yikes, I am not in the cardiology field but I have not heard of such a thing.  I would trust your cardiologist over an acupuncturist.  The Mayo clinic website considers it a symptom not a disease in and of itself so the underlying cause of the enlargement must be addressed.  It also appears to be diagnosed through xrays and echos so this leads me to believe the acupuncturist was making an assumption that your pvcs were caused by and enlarged heart but not necessarily being able to know this for sure.  It is likely your heart is fine if you don't have any other symptoms besides the pvcs but since you haven't had a work up on your heart since 2007 it might be worth getting a check up.  Take care I am sure you are fine.

[grendslori]

It is possible to tell if a heart is enlarged by listening to it. There are some types of cardiomyopathy, such as Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy which causes a certain type of rare murmur to be heard. I seriously doubt this is the problem as this is a VERY rare type of murmur and most doctors never hear it through their entire career. For an accupuncture doctor to hear it and recognize it for what it is would be about nil; this is not even her field of medicine. Revisit your own cardiologist and be re-evaluated.

[tom_h]

Enlarged...... slightly.  She can discern degrees of enlargement?  I'd ask myself this question, "If she was an MD in China, why isn't she an MD in this country?"  I'd revisit your cardiologist.

[grendslori]

It is possible to tell the degree of enlargement; murmurs are categorized and it is that category that tells what degree the problem is. I think it is rather harsh to ask if she was a doctor in her own country, why she isn't a doctor here? She would have to become licensed in the state she lives in to practice medicine here; maybe she doesn't choose to do that, for whatever reason. Even a doctor who is licensed in Texas, cannot practice medicine in Florida, even though he has earned his MD degree here in the States.

[tom_h]

Harsh? Sorry, can't let it go.... 8-)  Anybody can TELL you anything, but does that mean you should believe it?   Acupuncture works, but placebos work too. Acupuncture has been shown to “work” to relieve pain, nausea, and other subjective symptoms, but it has never been shown to alter the natural history or course of any disease. So it’s mostly used for pain, but early Chinese practitioners maintained that it was not for the treatment of manifest disease, and its effects so subtle that it should only be employed only at the very beginning of a disease process, and was only likely to work if the patient believed it would work.  How's that for ancient medicine?!

Also, just got back from my cardioligist where I posed the question.  A trained physician can hear the EFECTS of an enlarged heart, but can't judge how enlarged the heart is just by listening to it. I'll stick with western medicine, be it harsh or not.