Minor developmental anomaly of the heart is an additional chord. Causes of the appearance of an additional chord of the left ventricle

The left ventricular pseudo-chord is considered a small heart anomaly. This is an additional muscle-tissue formation of a connective nature. The chord is attached to the opposite walls of the ventricular septa. Most often, such an anomaly is observed in the stronger sex.

In medicine, this diagnosis is quite common. But it does not apply to life-threatening pathological conditions. The patient is required to revise his lifestyle and be regularly examined by a cardiologist. If an anomaly is found in a child, then this is not a sentence. There is no need to limit his activity, school attendance, communication with peers. It is worth giving up only professional types sports, when the body is under constant physical stress. Parents need to monitor the well-being of their child and undergo regular medical examinations.

Ways of manifestation of the anomaly

A false chord can form due to a hereditary factor. It is the genetic predisposition that is considered the main root cause of the formation of the anomaly. If a pregnant woman is diagnosed with a heart disease, then the percentage of the appearance of cardiac pathology in a newborn baby is also very high. But the reasons include detrimental influence external environment, exposure to mutagenic elements (nicotine, alcoholic beverages, drugs). Various addictions on the embryo up to the sixth week of development, when the laying of connective tissues occurs, is especially negative.

There are no specific manifestations in a single abnormal formation, but a false chord and blockade of the His legs can be detected due to specific systolic murmurs, atypical for a healthy body. The complexity of diagnosis - in the absence of symptoms at the initial stages or with a single education. Noises may also not be heard, so you cannot rely on auscultation alone.

As a rule, an additional notochord is found in a child immediately after birth. If it was not found, then after a while the following symptoms may appear:

• heart pain, the intensity and frequency of manifestation of which may vary;
• feeling of contractions of your own heart (in a normal state, a person does not hear the rhythm);
• general weakness, high fatigue without objective reasons;
• autonomic dysfunction of the organ;
• psychological stress.

The connection between the false chord and heart block is arrhythmia, early restoration of the initial parameters of the cardiac chambers, or their overexcitation.

Note! In most cases, the presence of such an anomaly has no effect on the health and well-being of the child. Therefore, parents should not panic, it is enough to adhere to the simple recommendations of the doctor.

Key survey methods

False chord in the heart - what is it? To determine its features and effect on the body, the physician assigns instrumental research methods:

• initial examination with listening to the heart to determine the presence and nature of the noise;
• EchoCG - with ultrasound examination, a dense linear anomaly can be detected;
• ECG - needed to identify a problem with a heart rhythm;
• daily ECG monitoring;

What kind of examination the patient needs to undergo will be decided by the doctor. In most cases, an ultrasound of the heart is sufficient. Additionally, other examinations may be prescribed if there are concomitant diseases of the cardiovascular system or it is necessary to clarify the effect of pathology on the contractile ability of the heart.

Optimal therapy

Without pronounced symptoms of a false chord of the left ventricle, a child does not need to prescribe drug therapy. It is only required to visit a cardiologist on a regular basis, to undergo an EchoCG and an ECG at least once a year. Such preventive measures make it possible to monitor the patient's well-being in dynamics and, if necessary, begin therapy.

When symptoms of cardiovascular pathologies appear, groups of medications are prescribed. They are aimed at normalizing the condition and eliminating the symptoms of the anomaly.

1. The vitamin complex is necessary to improve the nutrition of the heart muscle. The vitamin course lasts at least one month, and is repeated at least once a year.
2. Normalization of the process of conducting an electrical impulse, which can provoke arrhythmia. Prescribe medications high in magnesium and potassium. The course of taking these funds is also about a month. The dosage is prescribed by the doctor individually, taking into account the patient's age, the severity of the disease, the presence of other diseases and the individual characteristics of the organism (the presence allergic reaction for certain medications).
3. Antioxidants are needed to restore metabolic processes. Without normalizing metabolism, it will not be possible to improve the patient's health, and thanks to the intake of this group of medicines, it is possible to bind and neutralize free radicals.
4. Nootropic drugs are aimed at combating neurocirculatory dystonia. They significantly increase the energy potential of the body and stimulate the work of the central nervous system and also activate natural defense mechanisms.

V mandatory it is necessary to adhere to a healthy lifestyle and carry out certain recreational activities:

• harden the body - hardening helps to strengthen blood vessels and increase overall resistance to temperature extremes and colds;
• balance the body, enrich your diet with vitamins and other useful elements that are necessary for the normal operation of all internal organs including the heart;
• spend a lot of time outdoors;
• observe work and rest, avoiding overload at school and at work, and we are talking about both physical fatigue and stressful situations;
• engage in moderate physical activity - sport is always necessary, but the tolerance of the load is determined by the doctor.

Multiple transverse chords can provoke arrhythmia and associated pathological conditions. Diseases progressing on this basis can have a lot of negative consequences and complications. In these cases, careful diagnosis and hospital treatment are required under the supervision of a cardiologist.

In especially difficult cases, cryodestruction may be required (the chord is exposed to cold) or excision of the formation.

It is not always possible to say whether the pathology threatens with dangerous complications. The presence of a chord is not considered a dangerous phenomenon for the health of the body, if the abnormal formation does not provoke disturbances in the work of the cardiovascular system. Complications with an additional chord appear in extremely rare cases. Regular intake of medications minimizes the possibility of complications. The only condition is that it is necessary to take only those drugs recommended by the attending physician, and only in the prescribed dosage. The use of improperly selected medications can provoke cardiac arrhythmias and other pathological conditions.

The prognosis of life with this diagnosis is favorable if there are no hemodynamic and arrhythmogenic disorders.

The child can lead a normal life without significant changes and restrictions. The key rule in this case is a healthy lifestyle and pathology control.

Pediatrician, pediatric cardiologist

The heart is a complex organ consisting of 4 chambers. It so happens that after an ultrasound of the heart, an additional notochord is found in the child's heart. It is passed down through the maternal line and is passed on through the dominant mode of inheritance.

According to studies, an additional chord occurs in 22% of cases among the child population. But this is only in persons examined by echocardioscopy.

Such an additional chord is laid even in the intrauterine heart of the baby at the 5th week of pregnancy.

A minor anomaly in the development of the heart, or, as doctors like to write, MARS is a group of anomalies in the development of cardiac structures with deviations from the normal structure that do not lead to disruptions in work. Consequently, there are no health complaints.

Our article will tell you about the features of the heart structures, why an additional notochord appears in the heart of a child, and how to continue to live with it.

The heart consists of chambers - the atria and ventricles, between which there are valves. Valves are needed to prevent blood from flowing in the opposite direction. The opening and closing of the valves is controlled by special threads, or chords.

The normal chord is attached to the valve at both edges and participates in its work. The additional chord differs in thickness and structure from other chords and, as a rule, is not completely attached to the valve and may not participate in its work.

How can such a chord be dangerous? It may contain additional pathways and cause a violation of the heart rhythm by the type of atrial fibrillation, extrasystole. May alter the rate of blood flow to the heart.

An ultrasound doctor must indicate in the conclusion which chord is hemodynamically significant and how it affects the contraction of cardiac structures.

If you do not conduct an ultrasound screening for a child, then you may not find out about such a diagnosis.

By location:

By structure:

• fibrous;
• fibromuscular;
• muscular.

By placement in the heart:

• diagonal;
• longitudinal;
• transverse.

In count:

• single (in 70% of cases);
• multiple (in 30% of cases).

For participation in blood circulation in the chambers of the heart:

• hemodynamically significant. They have an effect on blood flow, can disrupt the work of the heart;
• hemodynamically insignificant. Usually considered as a variant of the norm, they do not harm the work of the heart.

Happening! At the reception was a child, 7 years old, a boy. An ultrasound of the heart revealed a chord in the left ventricle. Mom said that she was also given this diagnosis, while the grandmother also has this heart anomaly.

Also, the appearance of an additional chord is facilitated by:

• smoking mom during pregnancy;
• bad ecological situation;
• improper nutrition of mom;
• stress.

Usually, children do not present any complaints in the presence of an abnormal chord in the left ventricle.

Several signs are possible in the presence of a chord in the right ventricle.

It should also be borne in mind that these symptoms in most cases appear during exercise.

Personal experience. As a rule, there is 1 child with an additional notochord for one full-fledged visit to a cardiologist. At the same time, no special complaints are presented, and the extra chord is an accidental find. There was even a boy hockey player with daily physical activity for 3-4 hours with LVH (additional chord of the left ventricle) and perfectly tolerated such loads. But it should be borne in mind that this is a chord in the left ventricle. An abnormal chord in the right ventricle has not been encountered in my practice.

Komarovsky EO about the “famous chords in the heart”: “In my practice, there were such children who were randomly identified chords in the heart on ultrasound. If not for the ultrasound, then clinically they are absolutely healthy children. Don't treat them like sick children and limit them physical activity... They can become athletes of the Olympic reserve on an equal basis with everyone else. The only thing that is not recommended for them is to jump with a parachute and work as divers. "

Diagnostics

An additional notochord is detected on ultrasound screening at the age of 1 month of the child's life.

Also, additional chords create a specific heart murmur, which, as a rule, is well heard lying down and disappears when the position of the body changes. In any case, if a heart murmur is detected, the doctor will refer the child for an ultrasound of the heart.

Also, if there is a risk of developing arrhythmia, it is necessary to conduct ECG monitoring annually. If changes in the ECG are detected, it is worth conducting a detailed examination - daily monitoring of the ECG.

There is no specific treatment.

No surgical intervention is required for an additional chord.

1. If the child makes complaints, then the treatment is symptomatic. Magnesium preparations; nootropics; drugs to improve blood circulation, which reduce myocardial oxygen demand and normalize metabolic processes in heart cells.

2. For the normal functioning of the heart, daily physical activity is necessary:

3. Nutrition should consist in saturating the diet with foods rich in potassium, magnesium, calcium:

• dried apricots;
• dairy products;
• baked potato;
• cheeses;
• raisins, dried fruits;
• bananas;
• nuts.

4. It is necessary to exclude prolonged contact with computers, telephones.

5. Important healthy sleep child for 8 hours at night.

Such a child should undergo an echocardioscopy, ECG and visit a pediatric cardiologist annually.

The additional chord of the left ventricle belongs to the normal variant and does not need medical correction without any clinical manifestations. No need to panic if such a conclusion is written on the ultrasound, but it is better to contact a pediatric cardiologist who will tell you in detail what to do with an extra chord.

The word "anomaly" in the doctor's office sounds frightening, but together the phrase "anomaly of the heart" is perceived as a sentence. The accessory notochord of the left ventricle is considered a minor anomaly of heart development (MARS). Then many questions arise: is it dangerous, is it possible to live with it, is it necessary to carry out any treatment and how it will affect the future life. But is the diagnosis made so senior and can it really be perceived as a sentence?

Should you be afraid of illness?

The accessory chord of the left ventricle (abbreviated LVLVH) - what is it? Normally, there are two chords in the human heart. They ensure that the valves work properly during heartbeat. The chord is a filamentous spring that allows the valve to remain static, hold the blood properly and not bend. They are found in both the right and left ventricles. In LVDH, one or more extra tendon filaments appear in the cavity of the left ventricle of the heart. At their core, additional chords are additional "springs" attached to the valve.

Chord types

The location of the chords dictates their names and types. There are 3 types of chords:

• longitudinal;
• diagonal;
• transverse.

The first two types are described in the ultrasound reports as hemodynamically insignificant. They are quite harmless. Their location does not interfere with the movement of blood and the work of the heart. But the latter type is considered hemodynamically significant, which, in principle, is dangerous to health, since the function of the blood flow is impaired, and this harms the heart. Depending on the specific area in which these threads are located, they are distinguished:

• apical;
• middle;
• basal.

95% of patients with this problem have an accessory notochord (one or more) in the left ventricle.

Causes of pathology

There are various reasons for the formation of LVDC. But the first and foremost is genetic inheritance. With about a 92% probability, a mother with this anomaly will pass it on to her child. Less often the father can pass it on. The threads are formed in the womb, when heart tissue begins to form, so the disease can be called congenital.

Additional reasons often include:

• bad habits of a pregnant woman (alcohol, cigarettes, drugs);
• improper nutrition;
• excessive stress on the body;
• intrauterine fetal infections;
• decreased immunity;
• polluted ecology (including radiation);
• stressful situations (both of the nervous system and of the whole organism).

How does the disease manifest itself?

Apart from heart murmurs in people with a small anomaly in the form of an additional notochord, no other symptoms occur. An additional chord in the heart of a child is detected at an early age when listening. After that, the doctor prescribes an ultrasound scan, which confirms or refutes the diagnosis.

1. 1. It is necessary to give up all bad habits... Quit smoking and avoid smoking areas; exclude alcoholic beverages from consumption, even if they are low alcohol.
2. 2. It is necessary to eat correctly and in a balanced manner, to observe the diet. Eat a variety of foods, but do not overeat. Include in your diet all the necessary trace elements.
3. 3. You need to walk in the fresh air. Outdoor walks are especially important for expectant mothers and their babies. When the blood is enriched with oxygen, it has a beneficial effect on the functioning of the entire cardiovascular system.
4. 4. If the mother has such an anomaly in the heart, then before conception it is necessary to consult a doctor.
5. 5. Stressful conditions should also be avoided. Stress is a shake-up for the whole organism and is absolutely unhealthy. A constant stressful state leads to depletion of the nervous system and the whole organism.
6. 6. It is also forbidden to exceed the permissible loads. The loads should be, since they in moderation allow you to keep the body in good shape, train the heart. But in no case should you exceed the permitted amount and intensity, because this can cause undesirable consequences.
7. 7. The body must have enough of all the necessary vitamins. It is necessary to ensure that the body is provided with vitamin C, magnesium, calcium.
8. 8. It is necessary to control the immune system. Immunity protects us from all possible infectious diseases. Weakened immunity may not cope with a threatening infection, and it, in turn, can lead to unpleasant consequences.

The human heart consists of several chords that prevent the valve from bending during contraction. Due to their presence, the organ can retain blood, push it through the vessels. In some people, in the first weeks of development, an additional notochord of the left ventricle is formed. Most often it has a filamentous structure, but in some cases it is based on muscles and tendons. In 90% of cases, this deviation is found in adolescents aged 13-16 years, but many people with this diagnosis live to old age without problems in the work of the heart. Below we will analyze what it is and how this condition affects well-being.

Reasons for development

An additional notochord in the left ventricle most often appears due to a genetic predisposition. It is transmitted in 95% of cases from mother to child. MARS develops in utero, and the catalyst for this process is a failure during the formation of connective tissue in the cavity of the left ventricle. For this reason, women who have been diagnosed with this need to examine their own children for this anomaly. Also, the reasons for the development of additional chords can be:

• poor ecological situation in the region;
• overstrain of a physical and nervous nature;
• taking alcoholic beverages and smoking.

Varieties of chords

An additional chord in the left ventricle of the heart can be of the following type:

• muscular, fibrous, or fibromuscular;
• with longitudinal, transverse, diagonal connecting fibers;
• with single or multiple strands;
• median, basal or apical.

The most dangerous are the transverse chords. They can block blood flow and pose a danger to the human body. In other cases, these MARS are considered harmless and do not carry any burden on the heart.

Symptoms

The additional notochord on the heart practically does not appear in any way until a certain age. With a certain structure, it may not appear even at a more mature age. It is believed that the first signs of LVDC can be detected during the active growth of the child, when the skeleton is developing faster than organs. The following symptoms can tell about the presence of MARS:

• fast fatigue without any heavy load;
• dizziness;
• pain in the region of the heart;
• a sharp change in mood;
• pounding heartbeat.

A similar symptom complex is given not only by an additional chord in the cavity, but also by other multiple MARS. Therefore, all diagnostic work should be carried out by a doctor with extensive experience. After the completion of the stage of active growth, signs of an additional notochord of the left ventricle disappear, but then appear in an adult. But on the basis of the symptoms listed above, the diagnosis is not made. The young patient will have to undergo various types of diagnostics.

If, after examination, the child reveals several extra chords in the heart, then the doctor should refer the patient for additional diagnostics. As you know, connective tissue in the human body is concentrated not only in the heart, but also in muscles and other organs. Therefore, there may be clinical manifestations on their part. If they can be fixed, then the child is diagnosed with connective tissue dysplasia. This disease is characterized by changes in the skeleton, muscle tissue, and the structure of some organs.

Is this anomaly dangerous?

One additional notochord in the heart is regarded as a slight abnormality. Surgical treatment is not required for this type of MARS, so the parents and the child must remain calm. If there are no disturbances in the bloodstream, then surgical and medical treatment of the disease will not be needed. As they grow older, it can lead to the development of blood clots, a change in the heart rhythm, but it is impossible to predict the appearance of these pathologies.

Diagnostics

The diagnosis is made after an ultrasound of the heart. The patient is pre-auditioned for systolic murmurs. To make sure that the anomaly is harmless to the child's body, a classical and stress ECG can be prescribed. What specific diagnostic methods to use is decided by the doctor after examining the patient.

Treatment

If an additional chord with hemodynamic symptoms is found in a child or adult, it is recommended to limit physical activity. Also, patients are recommended to take the following drugs:

• l-carnitine, ubiquinone to restore metabolic processes in the heart muscle;
• piracetam to relieve signs of neurocirculatory dysfunction;
• intravenous B6, B12 and niacin to improve the condition of the myocardium;
• magnesium and potassium to improve the conduction of nerve impulses and prevent arrhythmias.

The development of atrial fibrillation, tachycardia may be indications for prompt hospitalization. But most often these diseases appear when there are several chords or one chord is transverse. Then the doctors conduct a detailed analysis of the heart and determine the method of treating the problem that has arisen. Most often, chords that interfere with blood flow are excised or removed with nitrogen.

If an additional chord is found in a child or an adult as a result of a routine examination, but does not cause any discomfort, then medications are not taken. Such patients should normalize their daily routine, avoid overexertion and excessive relaxation. Strong physical exertion will have to be abandoned in favor of walking in the fresh air.

If a child is engaged in a certain kind of sport, then you should not abruptly forbid him to attend the section. It is necessary to discuss the possibility of training with a doctor so that he adequately assesses the patient's condition. There is no need to isolate the child from society, prohibit him from walking and playing with friends, because this approach will make him feel inferior.

Prevention of complications

Given that the disease is genetic in nature, it cannot be prevented. If an additional chord is detected in an adult or child, the recommendations of a specialist in this regard must be followed. In order not to develop complications, at an older age, you should monitor the amount of cholesterol consumed and your own weight. Excess body weight creates additional stress on blood vessels, forcing the heart to work harder.

Physiotherapy exercises are needed for children with an additional chord. They help to strengthen the heart muscle, preventing the development of all kinds of pathologies. Most doctors do not advise people with an extra chord to go in for sports at a competitive level. Long swims, practical training in the flying club, diving can harm people with the presented anomaly. But sprint, yoga and bodyweight exercises will make the heart muscle stronger.