Do I have congenital heart disease?
On Friday, I went to the doctor's for my physical. My doctor saw that my arms are longer than normal. I am 5'3". When I am standing straight, my arms end at about 3 inches above my kneecap. My doctor said that my breathing sounds normal, but he thinks that there is a connection between congenital heart disease and my long arms. The long arms do not run in my family by the way. I am 14. Has anyone heard of this connection before?
Heart Diseases - 10 Answers
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1 :
your doctor must be on drugs
2 :
YOUR GROWING. That is what is wrong with you. I am sure you will even out in time.
3 :
You're 14. That'd be awfully young for congenital heart disease.
4 :
He "thinks" there is a connection - can he quote from some study? I have never come across such a study. Sounds like you may need a new doctor.
5 :
There is a inborn, dominant, condition called Marfan Syndrome. This syndrome is pretty common, but not always too obvious. The "symptoms" of this condition is briefly long limbs, often the arms are disproportional long compared to the rest of the body, the same for the fingers and toes. People with this syndrome also often have problems (nearsightedness and astigmatism) with their eyes, needing glasses. Also, these people seem to be predisposed for also carrying inborn heart defects, most common the mitral valve prolapse, a normally pretty harmless condition found in about 1 out of 20. (Some other symptoms also apply as in the respiratory system and connective tissue). But again, just wait for the results, most likely nothing to worry about.
6 :
at 14 anything can change, especially a Dr (which I recommend)
7 :
Gigantism and acromegaly are syndromes of excessive secretion of growth hormone (hypersomatotropism) that are nearly always due to a pituitary adenoma. Before closure of the epiphyses, the result is gigantism. Later, the result is acromegaly, which produces distinctive facial and other features. Diagnosis is clinical and by skull and hand x-rays and measurement of growth hormone levels. Treatment involves removal or destruction of the responsible adenoma. If you have congenital heart disease/pulmonary diseases, you will have clubbing of fingers. Clubbing is a thickening of the flesh under the toenails and fingernails. The nail curves downward, similar to the shape of the round part of an upside-down spoon.
8 :
NO never heard of this b/s before..My Mother, brother & sister all died of heart disease,my mom @ 64 my brother @ 36 & my sister @40 .. Think he just wants your arms wrapped around himself.. Report the prick,he has got no right to say things like this to you,your under 18 by law there should be a nurse,parent or guardian,with you just for this very reason,so he can not put the fear of god in you.. As already stated about my family,i myself have been diagnosed with a heart murmur,just this week not bad i feel as i will soon be 65yrs old..Never a problem before,so not to worried.. At 14 with long arms no worries.. Stay well & happy..Make sure you put him in his place..
9 :
The only condition which springs to my mind is Marfan Syndrome, but just based on your arms being longer than AVERAGE (normal isn't the right word) it seems an odd comment for him to make. This could be a variation of normal, some people do have long limbs etc which develop more faster without having this syndrome. Do you have any known heart issues or did he detect an issue with your heart? Marfans syndrome is basically a connective tissue disorder which can affect various parts of the body such as ligaments, blood vessel walls and heart valves. Even if you do have this syndrome, it does not necessarily mean that you have a problem, quite often th syndrome is mild and causes no problems and does not always causes issues with the heart, however if you do have it, it's important that it's recognised because it can cause problems in some cases. With regards to the heart, Marfan syndrome can mean that wall of the aorta is affected, which can lead to problems such as dilation and tears in the aortic wall, which can result in aortic dissection. Marfan's syndrome can also cause problems with the mitral and aortic valves. You'd need to have further tests to assess if indeed this is something you have and if so, to what extent and treatment (if any) can then be decided. What I suspect has happened is that your Doctor has listened to your heart with a stethoscope and has detected an abnormal sound, probably Mitral valve prolapse which is a common feature of this syndrome (although with Marfan's, the valve is usually oversized). Many people have MVP without this syndrome. He's likely just put two and two together and said it out aloud that you could have Marfans syndrome. Edit Congential heart diease can actually produce symptoms when you are in your teens. Not all congential heart disease produces symptoms when you are a child and it always depends on the extent.
10 :
If you had congenital heart disease he would be doing an echo on you, if it was a serious problem you would have found this earlier. Congenital heart disease is something you are born with, you can not develop it later in life. Go to a cardiologist if your worried and get an echo done but if your showing no other symptoms at 14 years old, it probably isn't that serious. Good luck, go see a cardiologist. Just to be on the safe side. But just because your arms are a bit longer doenst mean anything, that could just be the way you are and it could be your normal
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