About me
Monitoring Cardiomegaly
Cardiomegaly is a condition in which heart is enlarged. It is not a disease. In this condition one of the chambers of heart or the heart muscle thickens causing enlargement of heart. The enlargement of the heart may be temporary or permanent.
Causes of enlargement of heart
Stress on the body
weak heart muscle
pregnancy
excess body fat
high blood pressure
lack of exercise
obesity
coronary heart disease
All these conditions develop pressure on heart, making difficult to function properly, resulting in its enlargement. It is also symptoms of an approaching disease. It is not treated timely, the enlargement may become permanent.
Symptoms of cardiomegaly
Palpitations
tired feeling
leg swelling
Breathlessness
Obesity
Diagnosing Heart Enlargement
When you experience the symptoms of heart enlargement, you consult your doctor and tell him about symptoms .He may order for thorough check up to diagnose the causes.
An ultrasound called enchocardiogram will give a clear view of the heart size, its ability to pump blood and the thickness of the heart muscle.
The chest X-ray called dilated cardiomyopathy is done to check the functioning of the heart.
Physical examination by the doctor using a stethoscope will reveal the abnormal sounds of the heart, when the doctor listens carefully.
Cardiac catheterization- this test is done to check for the blockages in coronary arteries( blood vessels that deliver oxygen from the heart to the other parts of the body)
Biopsy- In serious cases, the doctor might take a tissue sample from the heart, to evaluate the reason for the heart enlargement. But this is done very rarely.
CT Scans, MRIs- These scans help to evaluate the situations and reasons for heart enlargement.
Blood tests- Are done to check if certain disease like thyroid, HIV or other serious infections are responsible for heart enlargement.
High risks to have enlarged heart-
Heart enlargement, may lead to heart failure, because the muscles of the heart become weak and the ventricles (the largest chambers in heart that collects and disposes blood) stretch or dilate so much that it becomes hard for the heart to pump blood and supply it to the various body tissues.
Reversing heart enlargement
The doctor may recommend some medications to keep check on heart enlargement. Medicines like
Angiotensin- converting enzyme (ACE) inhibition- ( to improve heart pumping by lowering blood pressure)
Angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) – (are medicines used to treat high blood pressure and heart failure)
Diuretics- (are medicines used to reduce the pressure in the arteries and heart by lowering sodium and water content in the body)
Beta blockers-( used to lower blood pressure)
Anti- arrhythmics- ( used to promote regular heartbeat)
If medications do not work, in serious cases the doctor may go for surgeries like heart valve surgery, coronary bypass surgery, heart transplant... etc)
Heart enlargement conditions can be reversed or improved by changing or developing healthy habits like controlling blood pressure, diabetes, losing weight and exercising regularly and eating a nutritious diet and going for regular check-ups.