Enlarged heart muscle?

bunkie999

I did a search and didn't see anything for this so please forgive me if there is. I went to my doctor today for my monthly check up and she informed me that at my 18 week ultrasound they noticed that baby has an enlarged heart muscle. She said it could be a sign of Down syndrome, but I had the Down syndrome screening done at 11.5 weeks and everything came back normal. My doctor said she doesn't think this is what it means and that she isn't worried. She also told me my placenta is right over my cervix so placenta previa. I have to go for another ultrasound in 3 weeks and she will determine if I need a c section at that time. All around a bad appointment. Has anyone else been told their baby has an enlarged heart muscle.. I'm so lost as to what this will mean..

PinkLady2015

bunkie999 said:

I did a search and didn't see anything for this so please forgive me if there is. I went to my doctor today for my monthly check up and she informed me that at my 18 week ultrasound they noticed that baby has an enlarged heart muscle. She said it could be a sign of Down syndrome, but I had the Down syndrome screening done at 11.5 weeks and everything came back normal. My doctor said she doesn't think this is what it means and that she isn't worried. She also told me my placenta is right over my cervix so placenta previa. I have to go for another ultrasound in 3 weeks and she will determine if I need a c section at that time. All around a bad appointment. Has anyone else been told their baby has an enlarged heart muscle.. I'm so lost as to what this will mean..

Hi- I don't have any info on the enlarged heart muscle... it seems strange that she noticed it, mentioned downs syndrome and then said welp, don't worry! I'd be pretty upset- are they going to do a follow up appointment, another u/s, referral to cardiologist? The screening tests aren't a definite diagnosis one way or another, they are used more to determine a probability (like 1 in 400 or 1 in 4000) Not to scare you of course as it sounds like your doc wasn't concerned, but did she recommend any further blood tests? You may want o call your doctor back and ask these questions if they weren't already covered.

As far as the placenta previa, I'm also not sure why they're only giving you until 21 weeks to determine if you'll need a C-section... baby is still growing and your placenta will most likely shift as baby grows and stop covering your cervix... this can take up until the last few weeks of pregnancy to correct itself... Did she give you any limitations regarding the previa at this point??

BostonBaby1

^^WSS.  I'm sorry that you had a bad appointment. I would definitely look further into the issue that arose on ultrasound. They recommend you going to a high-risk MFM? 

bunkie999

I was kinda in shock in her office to ask anything further about the enlarged heart she just kept reassuring me that she wasn't worried about it.. But didn't let me know if it's not Down's what does it mean? Sorry as of now I am 21.5 weeks she is doing another ultrasound in 3.5 weeks so I will be 25 weeks when she checks the placenta placement again. She adviced me no heavy lifting, and if I have any bleeding to go into the emergency department asap. From the appointment I got that she wants me to have this next ultrasound so she can tell me more about the placenta and about the enlarged heart. But that leaves one nervous momma for the next 3 weeks 

PinkLady2015

bunkie999 said:

I was kinda in shock in her office to ask anything further about the enlarged heart she just kept reassuring me that she wasn't worried about it.. But didn't let me know if it's not Down's what does it mean? Sorry as of now I am 21.5 weeks she is doing another ultrasound in 3.5 weeks so I will be 25 weeks when she checks the placenta placement again. She adviced me no heavy lifting, and if I have any bleeding to go into the emergency department asap. From the appointment I got that she wants me to have this next ultrasound so she can tell me more about the placenta and about the enlarged heart. But that leaves one nervous momma for the next 3 weeks 

I hear ya on being nervous for the next 3 weeks...BUT if your doctor wasn't overly concerned then I think it's probably best to just keep reminding yourself this and if there was cause for concern your doctor would have given you that information as well.  I will suggest to stay OFF the interwebz- I know it's hard, but there is so much misinformation out there and anecdotal stories that leave out very large and significant portions of the actual events. Try and hang in there as much as possible... unfortunately there isn't much you can do but wait and follow what your doc is saying.

stillcozy

Sorry your dr gave you a scare and then tried to dismiss it! That would make me anxious as well. Hopefully she realized what she said could cause anxiety and that she didn't need to say it and that was why she changed her tune. 

I think it is always a good sign though when a dr says they are not concerned. Sorry you have to wait so long and I'm also surprised they will make the decision for a c section at only 21
weeks. Hoping your placenta moves up as mine did by that time to help ease some of your anxiety but a c section is okay too  

so sorry you had a stressful appointment though spend the weekend doing things that you enjoy and make you happy! I think some self care is called for! 

PhoebeJune1984

Sorry it wasn't a great appointment. The worst is when they point out something that sounds like it is something of concern, and then they say not to worry. Don't they know, that is all most of us do, from the time we get pregnant until the day we die? Its part of being a parent! That is like my friends daughter went to an appointment (she is one) and the doctor mentioned "maybe lymphoma" but then told them not to worry and they would get an appointment at the children's hospital. Now they have to wait a month, to find out if it is lymphoma or something less serious. Talk about stressful!! But I have to agree with the others, try to focus on other things, since the doctor said that she wasn't that concerned about it. My guess if it was THAT concerning, they would have looked into it further ASAP.  

An old friend of mine had placenta previa, and it ended up being fine by the time she was full term (and she delivered vaginally. Hopefully that is the case with yours! 

bunkie999

Thank you ladies it means so much to have a group of pregnant moms who can empathize with each other. It's nice to have the support! 

silvers626

I'm sorry you had a bad appointment. I don't have any experience with the heart issue so all I can say is to follow advice of PP and ask a few more questions at your next appointment until you are more satisfied with the answers. But in regards to the previa, I had that in my first pregnancy. Once the doctor diagnosed in my A/S he scheduled me for monthly ultrasounds until I was about 35 weeks with the same cautions as you've been given. As the pregnancy progresses my placenta did move up but remained so that the edge of the placenta was right at the edge of my cervix. From 35 weeks I had weekly ultrasounds where they very closely monitored its position. My last ultrasound was only a few days before I delivered DS and they gave me the go ahead to try for vaginal delivery, which is how I delivered DS, but cautioned me that if there was any abnormal bleeding during labor I would be taken for a C/S. So my advice is to see what the results are after your next ultrasound but if the placenta is still low or completely covering your cervix, have a conversation with your provider about options to monitor the situation before making a decision at 25 weeks about a C/S, unless of course there are other circumstances that make the decision necessary at that time. 

trucksntutus

I'm so sorry you had this experience ; although I've never experienced it I will be keeping you in my thoughts and hopefully things turn around and you'll be able to deliver the way you want to without any issues! Always ask questions until your hearts content!

PleaseSendPicklesNow

I am so sorry you had such an anxiety provoking appointment, and I understand what you're going through. On Thursday, our ultrasound indicated a few different problems with our son's heart, and they think he has a congenital heart defect. One of the the things they saw was enlarged muscle on the lower right chamber of his heart. Now we're waiting for a follow-up appointment at pediatric cardiology unit to confirm a diagnosis.

Since the doctor says not to worry yet, and your genetic screening was normal, those are very good signs! I would encourage you to contact your doc and ask questions until you feel better. Good luck to you and your babe.