What is left and right heart dilatation?

An increase in the volume of different parts of the heart in excess of the norm (for example, dilatation of the left atrium) is a pathology that leads to disruption of the organ itself and the emergence of systemic problems. This condition occurs after stretching the heart chamber in certain diseases of a congenital or acquired nature.

Dilatation (expansion of a hollow organ without changing the thickness of its walls) is a consequence of pathological processes occurring in the body of local or general significance. Why does this happen?

Some anatomy and physiology

The human heart is a hollow organ with a developed muscular layer, consisting of four main chambers. On the upper floor are two atria, on the lower level are two ventricles. The left sections are separated by the mitral valve, the right - by the tricuspid valve. These devices open during systolic atrial contraction and close during diastolic relaxation, allowing normal blood flow within the heart chambers. Separation of the left and right departments is carried out by a continuous vertical wall.

The main function of the heart is to pump blood through two separate circulations:

1. The large circle originates from the left ventricle and the aorta, which is divided into branches (arteries) that deliver oxygen to all organs - here in the capillaries there is an exchange for carbon dioxide.
2. Further, the blood goes through the venous vessels, the caliber of which increases more and more as it approaches the right atrium (the final stage of the great circle).
3. Then the venous blood passes into the right ventricle - from it originates the pulmonary (pulmonary circulation), which is necessary for the exchange of carbon dioxide for oxygen in the capillary network of the alveoli of the lungs.
4. After completion of oxygenation, blood enters the system of intrapulmonary veins into the left atrium.

Causes and mechanisms

The problem can occur in any cavity of the heart, most often in one, less often in both right or left sections.

With what it can be connected:

• impaired outflow of blood into the left ventricle - stenosis of the mitral valve or its insufficiency in heart disease;
• prolonged regurgitation (reverse reflux of part of the blood back from the ventricle into the atrium) - prolapse in the mitral valve;
• increased pressure in a large circle - high physical activity, hypertension, aortic stenosis;
• cardiomyopathy (decrease in the number of full-fledged muscle fibers and thinning of the walls of the heart cavities) - hereditary or acquired pathology (after infections, intoxications, as a result of metabolic disorders, etc.);
• severe forms of cardiac arrhythmias (can be both a cause and a consequence) - flicker, flutter, atrial fibrillation;
• neoplasms - more often tumors of a benign nature (myxoma).

Undoubted risk factors for the considered pathology of the heart are alcoholism, past infectious diseases, autoimmune processes and genetic predisposition.

Possible symptoms

Small or moderate expansion of the right atrium may not manifest itself in any way and is often found incidentally during a medical examination or routine examination.

Severe dilatation leads to disruption of the heart and is manifested by symptoms of heart failure:

• malaise, decreased performance;
• the appearance of shortness of breath with or without physical exertion;
• pallor or cyanosis of the skin and mucous membranes;
• swelling of the legs, especially in the evening;
• various arrhythmias.

The asymptomatic course is most characteristic of congenital cardiomyopathy, which over time will still lead to the development of heart failure or death due to a sudden sharp attack of arrhythmia and (or) pulmonary thrombosis.

Diagnosis and treatment

The diagnosis can be preliminarily made at the doctor's office by listening to characteristic murmurs from the right or left chambers of the heart during auscultation. For clarification, echocardiography is performed - the most informative type of research.

Of the additional methods are possible:

• radiography;
• electrocardiogram;
• according to the indications, an MRI is performed.

Establishing and eliminating the cause is not always possible, therefore, symptomatic therapy for existing heart failure is most often performed.

Drug treatment is carried out with drugs from the group of beta-blockers, diuretics, cardiac glycosides, antiplatelet agents, antihypertensives. Surgical assistance consists in the installation of a pacemaker of the heart rhythm. Patients are prescribed a therapeutic diet with fluid and salt restriction, alcohol and smoking are strictly prohibited. The volume of therapeutic measures in each case is determined individually depending on the age, condition of the patient, the severity of the pathology and other factors.

Dilatation of the left atrium is always associated with the development of life-threatening conditions, therefore, if it is accidentally detected, it is necessary to immediately contact a cardiologist for in-depth diagnosis and treatment.