A cardiac aneurysm is a thinning and bulging section of the myocardium of the heart chamber. A left ventricular aneurysm is often a consequence of an extensive myocardial infarction, less often – a consequence of chronic ischemic or dystrophic processes. Treatment of left ventricular aneurysm involves excision of the aneurysm area with suturing of the heart muscle defect.
When to suspect pathology?
All symptoms associated with the left ventricular aneurysm are caused either by the underlying pathology against which an aneurysm develops or by its complications. Most often patients are disturbed by the attacks of retrosternal pain caused by CHD. Pain paroxysm is caused by physical exertion or emotional overstrain, it disappears at rest and after nitroglycerin administration. Less often, the pain is nagging or aching.
The second frequent symptom is shortness of breath. It occurs at minor physical activity, sometimes even at rest. With progressing aneurysms and concomitant heart failure, there are attacks of suffocation.
After a large meal and while lying down, people may notice the heart beating faster. Patients complain of weakness and increased fatigue. With the disease progression patients have a feeling of heaviness in the right subcostal area which is caused by stagnation of blood.
How is the left ventricular aneurysm treated?
Due to the relatively favorable prognosis of asymptomatic left ventricular aneurysms, indications for surgical treatment in some patients are relative. Sometimes, patients with indications for surgical myocardial revascularization (CABG) also require surgical correction of left ventricle (LV) shape. Surgical treatment is indicated to patients whose myocardial infarction has resulted in LV dysfunction with areas of akinesia and dyskinesia of its walls and an increase in LV volume.
In most cases, conservative therapy is used to relieve symptoms. According to numerous scientific trials, the five-year survival rate of patients with cardiac aneurysms with the use of conservative therapy is significantly lower than the five-year survival rate of patients who have undergone timely surgical treatment.
Surgical treatment is a radical method of heart aneurysm management. Depending on the area of left ventricular damage and its contractility, the cardiac surgeon uses one of the methods of left ventricular aneurysm repair:
- If the pathology is accompanied by a thrombus, it is removed during the operation
- If there is arrhythmia, ablation (cauterization) of the arrhythmia-prone areas is performed
- If the normal blood flow is disturbed, coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) may be performed
Surgery for a left ventricular aneurysm is a radical and effective way to treat arrhythmias and congestive heart failure resulting from an aneurysm. Surgery is performed after stabilization of the patient’s condition and thorough preoperative preparation.
In the case of a left ventricular aneurysm, cardiac surgeons perform several types of left ventricular remodeling. Linear left ventricular aneurysm repair is the standard method. If the defect is localized along the posterior wall of the left ventricle, circular patch plasty is indicated, and if there are small bulges at the apex of the heart, cystic plasty is indicated. In large aneurysms with lesions of the interventricular septum, endoventricular plasty is used.
How to start the treatment during a lockdown?
If the surgery for the left ventricular aneurysm is performed correctly, the long postoperative period is usually required. LV function, ejection fraction, and exercise tolerance improve significantly. The 5-year survival rate of patients reaches 80%.
If you’re not sure that you will receive quality treatment in your native country, you can always go abroad for treatment of the left ventricular aneurysm. And Booking Health can help you with that.
Instead of going through countless online resources collecting information about the lockdown restrictions, you can turn to Booking Health and spare your time and energy. Booking Health arranges communication with the hospitals, translation of medical documents, issuing a medical visa during a lockdown, booking tickets and accommodation, etc. And the amazing thing is, you don’t have to pay more!
For more information about the left ventricular aneurysm repair, visit the Booking Health website.
