Is left ventricular hypertrophy serious?

First of all, we should not think that left ventricular hypertrophy is a serious disease. In fact, it only indicates the state of the left ventricle, but it is often a precursor to heart disease and needs everyone's attention. The causes of left ventricular hypertrophy can actually be divided into two reasons. One is that athletes or exercise cause left ventricular hypertrophy, and the other is pathological, such as high blood pressure. There is actually a big difference between these two reasons, because pathological left ventricular hypertrophy can easily cause arrhythmias and heart pain. Friends of this type should pay more attention to their heart health.

How to understand left ventricular hypertrophy?

In layman's terms, left ventricular hypertrophy has two meanings:

(1) Left ventricular hypertrophy: The myocardium that makes up the left ventricle becomes thicker;

(2) Left ventricular enlargement: The heart chamber of the left ventricle is enlarged.

Generally speaking, myocardial hypertrophy belongs to the compensatory stage of physiological adaptation, in which myocardial soldiers become stronger and are able to persist in resistance; cardiac cavity enlargement belongs to the non-compensatory stage of pathological force, in which the soldiers retreat and the ventricular cavity is impacted and expands like a balloon. Simple left ventricular hypertrophy generally does not have any clinical symptoms, while left ventricular enlargement can cause various manifestations of left heart dysfunction or even left heart failure.

Why does the left ventricle myocardium become thickened?

Starting in adolescence, the muscle of the left ventricle gradually thickens, becoming three to five times thicker than the right ventricle.

This is because the right ventricle only needs to pump blood to meet the pulmonary circulation, while the left ventricle needs to pump blood to supply oxygen to tissues and organs throughout the body, which requires a higher pressure.

Therefore, it is not difficult to understand that left ventricular hypertrophy has physiological and pathological factors:

(1) Physiological hypertrophy: People who exercise regularly require more oxygen, so they need more left ventricular ejection during exercise, such as athletes;

(2) Pathological hypertrophy: Certain diseases cause increased arterial pressure or increased left ventricular ejection resistance, which is caused by pathological factors, such as hypertension.

What is the difference between physiological and pathological left ventricular hypertrophy?

(1) Left ventricular hypertrophy caused by regular exercise is characterized by strong myocardial contractility, large ejection volume, enhanced cardiac function, and the absence of arrhythmias, pathological and organic diseases, which is a sign of health. When you are not exercising, your heart rate may be lower than 60 beats per minute (still normal).

(2) Disease-induced left ventricular hypertrophy is usually caused by organic heart diseases such as hypertension and coronary heart disease. The myocardial hypertrophy is accompanied by decreased heart function and is often accompanied by arrhythmias and myocardial ischemia. The heart rate at rest often exceeds 60 beats/minute, and sometimes even exceeds 80 beats/minute (the blood volume pumped by compensatory myocardial hypertrophy is not enough, and the number of beats must be increased to maintain blood supply).