- Mar 22, 2002
- 10,483
- 32
- 81
Heya guys,
I thought I'd come on here to both state my thoughts and to hopefully read about others' experiences. In my clinical exercise physiology lab, we listened to heart sounds. The professor, an MD, just so happened to walk in and listened to my heart. He informed me that I had a systolic murmur, which are often no problem in young athletes. However, the sound of turbulent flow is actually louder than my S1 sound (the first audible noise of the heart's contraction). It sounds like water going through a small pipe and then you hear the second sound (S2 sound). He said it worried him because it was a bit loud (2-3/6 in loudness) so he referred me to a sports med doctor.
I went to the sports med doctor yesterday and we discussed my activity levels and my preferential sport (weightlifting). I told her of my healthy diet, high activity levels, intense weightlifting, etc. She listened to my heart and told me she wants me to see a cardiologist and get an echocardiogram. She said she thought it was a problem with my tricuspid valve, resulting in tricuspid valve regurgitation (blood backflow). Essentially with this condition, the right ventricle contracts to pump blood to my lungs, but blood goes backward to the right atrium and great veins. This can result in blood pooling, increased pressure in the systolic veins (resulting in decreased venous return and stroke volume), and overall poor blood circulation. The problem with a heart valve pathology is that is really effects cardiac output. Those with severe valve issues experience such symptoms as lethargy, shortness of breath, heart infections, congestive heart failure, myocardial infarction, etc. She then continued to inform me that heavy weightlifting was the worst thing I could do for this condition. Fuck. My prescription for now (and likely forever) is this: no exercise requiring a Valsalva maneuver or intense thoracic pressure for stabilization. I think I just became an endurance athlete. For those of you who don't know, I've had decent times/numbers in sprinting and squat/deadlift. I've always dreamed of beating my PRs in both, but it seems that's not to be.
I'm in the process of dealing with my insurance and getting my referral to a cardiologist. I'll get an echocardiogram there. I need to get the specifics on what types of exercises are acceptable and what aren't. But it's pretty much understood that I won't be able to do heavy squats or deadlifts if I value living for a bit. I instantly thought up one-legged movements for both squats (pistols) and deadlifts (one-legged deadies) so that's no biggie. I'll probably have to get into something more skilled though - back to Muay Thai or BJJ, which I don't exactly have the money for right now since I'll be paying $30k for physical therapy school for the next three years. I know that I'll have to make some compromises because of this. I'm just curious as to what you guys know from personal or interpersonal experiences about something like this. I'm down for any suggestions of exercises that do not require extreme tightness of the core. I may try something like a modified CrossFit Endurance while getting into a sport. I'm just pissed and, to be perfectly honest, frightened about this whole thing right now. Sigh. Thanks for reading, guys and gals.
1/26/10 UPDATE:
Ok, first let me open with lulz. I got the echo and EKG today. The doctor comes in, listens to my heart, and tells me "Yeah, you have what's known as an innocent murmur. The echo shows no irregular flow. Wanna see it?" You bet your ass I do. I watched my tricuspid valve, my mitral valve, and my aortic valve work perfectly. I do have a atrial septal aneurysm, which means the septum (wall) between my atria bulges. That's no problem at all though because it doesn't effect flow since pressure is maintained. He showed me what the doppler detected and it shows blood going the ways it was meant to. I laughed long and hard and still have the giggles from 10am.
Final diagnosis: turbulent flow from a powerful heart. So much win. So much. There's no way they could've known it was innocent without the echo. That's why my professor and the sports med doctors thought it was different locations - it was turbulent flow that was potentially unlocalize. Eff worrying myself sick. That was horrid.
I thought I'd come on here to both state my thoughts and to hopefully read about others' experiences. In my clinical exercise physiology lab, we listened to heart sounds. The professor, an MD, just so happened to walk in and listened to my heart. He informed me that I had a systolic murmur, which are often no problem in young athletes. However, the sound of turbulent flow is actually louder than my S1 sound (the first audible noise of the heart's contraction). It sounds like water going through a small pipe and then you hear the second sound (S2 sound). He said it worried him because it was a bit loud (2-3/6 in loudness) so he referred me to a sports med doctor.
I went to the sports med doctor yesterday and we discussed my activity levels and my preferential sport (weightlifting). I told her of my healthy diet, high activity levels, intense weightlifting, etc. She listened to my heart and told me she wants me to see a cardiologist and get an echocardiogram. She said she thought it was a problem with my tricuspid valve, resulting in tricuspid valve regurgitation (blood backflow). Essentially with this condition, the right ventricle contracts to pump blood to my lungs, but blood goes backward to the right atrium and great veins. This can result in blood pooling, increased pressure in the systolic veins (resulting in decreased venous return and stroke volume), and overall poor blood circulation. The problem with a heart valve pathology is that is really effects cardiac output. Those with severe valve issues experience such symptoms as lethargy, shortness of breath, heart infections, congestive heart failure, myocardial infarction, etc. She then continued to inform me that heavy weightlifting was the worst thing I could do for this condition. Fuck. My prescription for now (and likely forever) is this: no exercise requiring a Valsalva maneuver or intense thoracic pressure for stabilization. I think I just became an endurance athlete. For those of you who don't know, I've had decent times/numbers in sprinting and squat/deadlift. I've always dreamed of beating my PRs in both, but it seems that's not to be.
I'm in the process of dealing with my insurance and getting my referral to a cardiologist. I'll get an echocardiogram there. I need to get the specifics on what types of exercises are acceptable and what aren't. But it's pretty much understood that I won't be able to do heavy squats or deadlifts if I value living for a bit. I instantly thought up one-legged movements for both squats (pistols) and deadlifts (one-legged deadies) so that's no biggie. I'll probably have to get into something more skilled though - back to Muay Thai or BJJ, which I don't exactly have the money for right now since I'll be paying $30k for physical therapy school for the next three years. I know that I'll have to make some compromises because of this. I'm just curious as to what you guys know from personal or interpersonal experiences about something like this. I'm down for any suggestions of exercises that do not require extreme tightness of the core. I may try something like a modified CrossFit Endurance while getting into a sport. I'm just pissed and, to be perfectly honest, frightened about this whole thing right now. Sigh. Thanks for reading, guys and gals.
1/26/10 UPDATE:
Ok, first let me open with lulz. I got the echo and EKG today. The doctor comes in, listens to my heart, and tells me "Yeah, you have what's known as an innocent murmur. The echo shows no irregular flow. Wanna see it?" You bet your ass I do. I watched my tricuspid valve, my mitral valve, and my aortic valve work perfectly. I do have a atrial septal aneurysm, which means the septum (wall) between my atria bulges. That's no problem at all though because it doesn't effect flow since pressure is maintained. He showed me what the doppler detected and it shows blood going the ways it was meant to. I laughed long and hard and still have the giggles from 10am.
Final diagnosis: turbulent flow from a powerful heart. So much win. So much. There's no way they could've known it was innocent without the echo. That's why my professor and the sports med doctors thought it was different locations - it was turbulent flow that was potentially unlocalize. Eff worrying myself sick. That was horrid.
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