Re: High altitude and aortic stenosis

Richard wrote:
On Oct 31, 5:34�pm, dudleybates <dudleyba...@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
On Oct 30, 10:13�pm, Richard <sooperdoo...@xxxxxxx> wrote:


Background: I have a 6 year old son who has mild aortic stenosis and
mild VSD.

We wanted to move from our current elevation of 1200 feet to a home at
4500 feet (3,300 foot increase in elevation).

I understand there would be an increase of work for the right side of
the heart, along with an increase in blood pressure and heart rate at
higher elevations.

My son's cardiologist stated that aortic stenosis can get better with
age, or worse. I certainly don't want to cause my son's aortic
stenosis to get worse. In fact I want to live in an area where it
could possibly get better of course.

The cardiologist said that in HIS opinion, moving to 4,500 ft should
not cause an issue.

I would very much appreciate more opinions on this... not about my son
specifically, but in general.. can an increase in elevation and thus
work required by the right side of the heart and increase in pulmonary
pressure possibly cause aortic stenosis to worsen? Or possibly the
opposite?

Hi Richard,

I live in a mildly high elevation in the Rockies, at about 6,200 feet,
and I have recently done a lot of research on this subject, as I just
went through myocarditis and pulmonary hypertension scare. �It turned
out that I did not have pulmonary hypertension. �However, if I *had*
had pulmonary hypertension, I would probably have packed up and moved
down to sea level to alleviate my symptoms.

There is quite a bit of difference between 4,500 ft and 6,200 ft, and
4,500 ft is generally not considered to be high altitude. �If your son
does not now have elevated pulmonary pressures, then you may not have
anything to worry about, though you might listen to the others and get
a second opinion. �But it is probably something you should monitor
periodically no matter where you live. �Although I don't think it's an
issue, to be honest, as a mother ...if I had ANY question at all, and
if there were any way I could stay at sea level ... I'd stay at sea
level ... because this is not MY health I'd be gambling with.

To my knowledge high altitude would not benefit heart disease,
although it can benefit asthmatics and some people with chronic
obstructive pulmonary disease, as the atmosphere is thinner and is
easier to inspire through narrowed bronchioles. �But as there is less
oxygen in the air, it can take more work to breathe, and that can
overwork the heart and induce a hypercoagulable state (thick sludgy
blood), because the body must add a full unit's worth of hemoglobin to
carry the extra oxygen needed to make up for the oxygen missing in the
atmosphere.

http://www.emedicine.com/PED/topic2783.htm>

Well I'm just thinking, maybe I'm going overboard (please say so if
you think I am).. but my son has a VSD and so he's at a higher risk of
having a stroke.

That would be the case for an ASD and not for a small VSD, where there
would be no right to left shunting.

<><

"... no one can say 'Jesus is LORD' except by the Holy Spirit." (1 Cor
12:3)

http://groups.google.com/group/sci.med.cardiology/msg/43acbc5ea248ceee?
.

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