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If your heart is enlarged or the walls of your heart have become thicker, this can be in indication of several problems. For example, the doctor will likely measure the thickness of the wall of the left ventricle (the major pumping chamber of the heart). If it is thicker than 1.5 cm, this is considered abnormal. This or other thickened heart walls could indicate several problems including: High blood pressure Weak heart valves Damaged valves These measures can indicate whether your heart is pumping enough blood to supply your body with the oxygen it needs. If not, you are at risk for heart failure. There are two measurements the doctor may discuss with you: Left ventricular ejection fraction. This is the percentage of blood that is expelled from the heart during a heartbeat. A left ventricular ejection fraction of 60% is considered normal. Cardiac output. This is the volume of blood that the heart pumps per minute. At rest the average adult's heart pumps 4.8 to 6.4 liters of blood per minute. If parts of the wall of the heart are not pumping strongly, this can help the doctor pinpoint areas that have been damaged. This can occur due to tissue damage from a prior heart attack or coronary artery disease. Your doctor will be looking for several things: Hyperkinesis. This occurs when the heart or parts of the walls of the heart contract too much. Hypokinesis. This occurs when the contractions are too weak. Akinesis. This occurs when the tissue does not contract. Dyskinesis. This occurs when the wall of the heart bulges out when it should be contracting. You will likely be able to see the valves as gray lines that open and close with each beat of the heart enabling blood to pass between the chambers. Possible problems that you may see could be: A valve does not close tightly and it lets blood flow backwards through it. A valve does not open all the way so it restricts blood flow. You may be able to observe structural problems such as: Openings between chambers that should not be there Passages between the heart and blood vessels Heart defects that are developing a fetus
Ask your doctor how big your heart is. Determine the strength with which your heart pumps. Observe the pumping action of the heart. Examine the valves of your heart. Look for heart defects.