Right heart strain

Question

Dear expert team,

My daughter was diagnosed with right heart strain and I would like to ask whether this means her fitness is a bit limited now.

Many thanks.

Answer

Dear questioner,

You do not mention in your question that your daughter has cystic fibrosis (CF), but in answering we assume she does, as you are asking your question on an expert advice platform for CF.

You are saying that your daughter was diagnosed with right heart strain and asking whether this would mean any limitation in her physical fitness.

In answering your question, I would like to explain to you in a few words how right heart strain comes about.

The clinical picture of CF is characterized by chronic inflammation in the lungs. As the disease progresses, scar tissue is produced increasingly, which substitutes the lung tissue that decays due to the inflammation. This process reduces the number of blood vessels transporting the blood that is pumped from the right heart into the lungs. At the same time, the remaining blood vessels transporting the blood from the right heart to the lungs become tight. All this causes the right heart chamber to have to pump the blood into the lungs against a significantly higher resistance. In other words, the right heart has to work significantly harder. This is called right heart strain.

I therefore have to answer your question with "yes." Right heart strain does lead to limited physical fitness for the person concerned. This is usually hardly noticeable in everyday life at first. When climbing stairs or during sports, however, people concerned soon feel increased palpitations or also shortness of breath. You and your daughter should discuss with the doctors at your CF centre which therapeutic measures should be taken in order to achieve the greatest possible relief of the right heart.

We wish your daughter all the best.

Kind regards
Dr. H.-G. Posselt

15.01.2013