I went to another cardiologist recently and he ordered an echo, since the last one I had showed a small pericardial effusion. While that was ok, below are the results:

1. Mild apical hypokinesis.
2. Left ventricular ejection fraction is normal.
3. There is mild left atrial dilation - 4.2 cm
4. There is no aortic root dilation - 3.5 cm
5. The left ventricle is not dilated, LVEDD = 4.6 cm
6. No left ventricular hypertrophy
7. No mitral regurgitation
8. No aortic regurgitation
9. Trace tricupside regurgitation
10. No pericardial effusion.

The MD told me not to worry about the left atrial dilation and that we would check it again in a year. Not worry???!!!!

What could this mean? Should I really not worry? And what about the "Mild apical hypokinesis"? What does that mean?

Thanks in advance/

Hi Roscoe,

Normal atrium dimension is a range of 1.9-4.0 cm. A slightly higher may be insignificant as it is within a the margin of error (3-5%), additionally the dimension may be normal for you. It would require watching for any trend. When there is serious AV dilation and LV dimension is normal, it could indicate some stenosis (narrowing) of the mitral valve.

Mild apical hypokinesis is not very significant if the EF is normal. The phrase indicates mild motion impairment at the apex (top), but there should be an explanation for the underlying problem. Possibly a technical glitch.

I agree with the doctor's assessment, no need to worry.