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DiscussionConfused about Stiff Heart, Diastolic Heart Failure, or HFpEF?
Heart & Blood Health | Last Active: Nov 23 7:36am | Replies (63)Comment receiving replies
Replies to "I have hypertrophic cardiomyopathy with LVOT obstruction, high BP, and recurrent atrial fibrillation. Echo shows left..."
I feel like a twin for @arcp, except for the left ventricle outflow tract (LVOT) obstruction, which has not been identified (yet?), and the Amlodipine medication for hypertension (mine is Carvedilol, a beta blocker, plus Lisinopril, an ACE inhibitor). Everything else seems the same as yours. As to symptoms, I'm not conscious of any, although lab tests, BP readings, EKGs, and sonograms all show evidence of the other problems we share. When my A-fib diagnosis was made four years ago, my cardiologist said it's the "very definition of diastolic deficiency" -- reduced ability to refill the atrium with fresh blood and send it on to a ventricle. Although it may seem contradictory, I had a small stroke in June that doctors said probably was caused by a small clot formed in my heart as a result of A-fib. After six weeks of physical therapy, I'm now working to regain physical stability and have made a lot of progress on that. Fortunately, I haven't experienced breathlessness or dizziness, which would cause me to call 9-1-1 and get taken to the hospital in case another stroke is under way. I hope my plight will be helpful to you and others in this discussion. Martin