Signs and treatment of left ventricular diastolic dysfunction type 1-3

Diastolic dysfunction of the left ventricle is most often diagnosed in elderly patients. Their heart wears out, begins to perform its functions poorly. The essence of this disease is that during the period of relaxation, the left ventricle of the myocardium is not filled enough.

The pathological process that occurs in the heart must be treated on time, because the disease can lead to the development of complications. The most dangerous consequence is heart failure.

Reasons for the development of deviation

Normally, in a healthy person, the heart fills with blood in three stages. First, the heart muscle relaxes, blood flows from the atrium to the ventricle, the atrium contracts, and the ventricle fills. If failures occur at any one stage, diastolic dysfunction develops.

With diastolic dysfunction, the walls of the ventricle lose their elasticity, the heart muscle loses the ability to completely relax.

The main reason for the development of the pathological process is myocardial hypertrophy, the development of which is facilitated by such factors:

• aortic stenosis;
• hypertension;
• hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

Hemodynamic parameters may be disturbed due to diseases such as:

• pericarditis - a condition when, as a result of thickening of the pericardium, the ventricles and atria are compressed;
• amyloidosis - atrophy of muscle tissue caused by the accumulation of deposits;
• diseases of the coronary vessels, which lead to a decrease in myocardial elasticity and the development of coronary artery disease.

Type 1 left ventricular diastolic dysfunction develops most often in patients who suffer from overweight problems or have been diagnosed with diabetes mellitus.

Timely diagnosis and initiation of treatment will help prevent the development of complications and improve the patient's condition.

Clinical picture of the disease

Very often, diastolic dysfunction occurs without any symptoms. Basically, 45% of patients go to the hospital when the pathological process progresses intensively.

A person may not even suspect that he is developing this disease until it goes into an advanced form. Signs appear already in the case when there is stagnation of blood in the pulmonary arteries.

Diastolic dysfunction is accompanied by the following symptoms:

• slight shortness of breath, which manifests itself first with increased load, then already at rest;
• dry cough;
• failure of the heart rhythm, pain in the chest;
• increased fatigue, which is aggravated by performing physical work.

In order to diagnose the disease in time, you should regularly visit a cardiologist, take tests, monitor your health.

Classification of pathology

The development of diastolic dysfunction occurs gradually. The signs appear in sequence.

Depending on the degree of development and neglect of the disease, it is divided into several types:

1. Type 1 left ventricular diastolic dysfunction - relaxation is disturbed, the process of ventricular relaxation is slowed down.
2. Type 2 diastolic dysfunction - there is an increase in pressure in the atrium, the left ventricle is filled due to the pressure difference.
3. Type 3 diastolic dysfunction - the elasticity of the tissues of the left ventricle decreases, they become rigid.

Early diagnosis will help to avoid complications and prevent the progression of the disease. If the pathological process is started, irreversible changes begin to occur in the heart. Then it is very difficult to save a person, because concomitant diseases develop.

Diagnosis of dysfunction

After detecting the primary signs of pathology, you should immediately consult a doctor. Treated by cardiologists.

The specialist will consult and prescribe a number of additional diagnostic methods:

1. Laboratory methods. It is imperative to pass a general blood test, a blood test for biochemical parameters, hormones, hemoglobin levels and some trace elements.
2. ECG is an informative method with which you can determine the state of the heart muscle, diagnose hypertrophy, arterial hypertension or coronary disease.
3. Echocardiography - using this technique, you can determine the ejection fraction, the size of the ventricles, diagnose defects, cardiomyopathy.
4. Radiography allows you to see changes in the structure of the myocardium, to determine hypertrophy.
5. MRI is prescribed as an auxiliary method when it is difficult to confirm or refute the diagnosis.

These diagnostic techniques allow not only diastolic dysfunction to be diagnosed to the patient, but also to determine the causes of the development of the disease, the condition of the heart, and also to prescribe the correct treatment.

Treatment of the disease

This will help prevent complications, improve the patient's condition.

When the symptoms of diastolic dysfunction are expressive, the patient is prescribed drugs from different pharmacokinetic groups:

1. Diuretic drugs stimulate the removal of excess fluid from the body, the removal of edema, the elimination of stagnant processes in the internal organs.
2. Beta blockers. As a result of taking these drugs, the load on the heart is reduced, its contractions are normalized.
3. ACE inhibitors, sartans increase myocardial elasticity, help lower blood pressure.
4. Calcium antagonists have a positive effect on the myocardium, contributing to its relaxation.

There are pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatments for diastolic dysfunction. The second category includes lifestyle changes and diet therapy.

To get started you need:

• to refuse from bad habits;
• ensure the correct mode of rest and work;
• do not forget about healthy sleep.

Moderate physical activity will also have a positive effect on the health of the patient.

As for the diet, it is recommended to exclude fried, spicy, fatty foods from the daily diet, limit the amount of liquid and table salt that enters the body. It is useful for the patient to eat sour-milk products, fruits and vegetables, cereals. Rational nutrition, divided into 5-6 meals, will reduce the load on the circulatory system, improve the functioning of the heart. Without diet and lifestyle changes, the situation will only get worse.