Right atrial hypertrophy or enlargement is a result an increased amount of blood in the Right Atrium. This can be due to obstruction downstream, backwards flow across a leaking (“tricuspid”) valve, a defect in the wall between the Left and Right Atrium (an “Atrial-Septal Defect”), or a conduction abnormality to name a few possibilities. It can be diagnosed by EKG, cardiac ECHO and a variety of other tests.
Treatment depends on the underlying cause and may require an operation to fix the abnormality. If the cause is a high blood pressure in the artery to your lungs, it may involve medications if it is due to primary lung disease, and surgery if the cause is a leaky or obstructed Left sided (“Mitral”) valve.
Take look here for more information about your heart:
http://www.cardiac-risk-assessment.com/heart-information/anatomy-of-heart
http://www.cardiac-risk-assessment.com/heart-disease-diagnosis/heart-disease-tests
Some of the causes thus include:
- ASD (Atrial Septal Defect)
- COPD (Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease)
- Pulmonic valve stenosis
- Tricuspid valve stenosis + Insufficiency
- Mitral valve stenosis + Insufficiency
- R+L ventricular failure or CHF (Congestive Heart Failure) .
Hope this helps,
Dr T
Comments 4
Hi:
My ECG Test states that I have a borderline Enlargement of my Right Ventricle, my right Atrium is enlarged, a thickened aorta, a thickened mitral valve. My symptoms are: chest pain with tightness, shortness of breath when climbing stairs, weakness after workouts, mild swelling in ankles.
My MRI results state :- ATRIA
Left atrium: 26 cm2 (normal value <24 cm2).
Right atrium: 28 cm2 (normal value <22 cm2).
I have many unresolved symptoms, the worst being neurological, that I am trying to find the cause of.
Are my atria enlarged enough to manifest any symptoms or is it mild?
Can increased swelling in the left leg be a symptom of this right atrial hypertrophy.
I have it and they just keep putting me on lasix, I also have high blood pressure and family history of chf
More likely this swelling in your leg is the result of either venous or lymphatic insufficiency in that leg.
Please read more here:
https://www.cardiachealth.org/vascular-diseases/chronic-vein-disease/
Hope this helps,
Dr T