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I Recently Had A Echo Of My Heart Done A
Question: I recently had a echo of my heart done a month ago. So the test came back normal and it had trace of mitral regurgitate on it and enlarged ascending aorta at 3.7 That worry me so i went to an heart doctor. He told me that the trace of mitral is nothing to worry about and the number for the ascending aorta is normal. But it was over. So i ask for a cat scan with contrast CTA. It came back normal with no finding nor any aneurysm present. So I’m so confused now is this ct right and have not miss anything and my echo number was different. I need help with this
Brief Answer:
No need to be concerned
Detailed Answer:
Hello, I'm Dr. Branch, thanks for using Ask a Doctor. I can understand that it would be confusing with apparently different reports from the echo and the CTA. The reason for this is probably that the echo diameter, depending on where in the ascending aorta it was taken, was likely borderline between normal and enlarged. However, the CTA is the definitive study for determining whether there is enlargement, so a normal report for the CTA is reassuring and confirms there is nothing abnormal.
Even if you went with the echo findings, the management wouldn't be much different. If you had high blood pressure, that should be treated, and a statin would usually be given to help protect the aorta from getting larger. We generally don't worry about these until they get larger than 4.0 cm, so just monitoring it with a CTA once a year would be reasonable. But since your CTA was normal, your doctor will probably say this is not necessary.
I hope that helps, please let me know if you have any questions about any of that, and I would be glad to discuss it with you further.
No need to be concerned
Detailed Answer:
Hello, I'm Dr. Branch, thanks for using Ask a Doctor. I can understand that it would be confusing with apparently different reports from the echo and the CTA. The reason for this is probably that the echo diameter, depending on where in the ascending aorta it was taken, was likely borderline between normal and enlarged. However, the CTA is the definitive study for determining whether there is enlargement, so a normal report for the CTA is reassuring and confirms there is nothing abnormal.
Even if you went with the echo findings, the management wouldn't be much different. If you had high blood pressure, that should be treated, and a statin would usually be given to help protect the aorta from getting larger. We generally don't worry about these until they get larger than 4.0 cm, so just monitoring it with a CTA once a year would be reasonable. But since your CTA was normal, your doctor will probably say this is not necessary.
I hope that helps, please let me know if you have any questions about any of that, and I would be glad to discuss it with you further.
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Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Nagamani Ng
Answered by
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