An enlarged heart can be caused by high blood pressure, cardiomyopathy, valvular heart disease, arrhythmia, pulmonary hypertension, and anemia. Risk factors include a family history of an enlarged heart, high blood pressure, and coronary artery disease. Symptoms include shortness of breath, difficulty breathing, and dizziness. Treatment includes medications, pacemakers, valve surgery, and heart transplantation.
Typically, causes of an enlarged heart include high blood pressure, cardiomyopathy — which occurs when the heart muscle weakens — and valvular heart disease. Also, arrhythmia, which is an abnormal heartbeat that causes the heart to pump inefficiently, and pulmonary hypertension can contribute to an enlarged heart. Sometimes individuals suffering from anemia can develop an enlarged heart because the heart needs to work faster to compensate for the decrease in blood oxygen in these patients. The diagnosis of an enlarged heart can usually be made when it is seen on a chest X-ray or other cardiac imaging test.
Typically, people are at a higher risk of an enlarged heart, or cardiomegaly, if they have certain risk factors. Some risk factors that contribute to causes of an enlarged heart include a family history of an enlarged heart, high blood pressure, and coronary artery disease. Additionally, individuals who are born with certain heart abnormalities, such as structural defects, are also at increased risk. It is important to note that the absence of risk factors does not guarantee that a person will not develop cardiomegaly. Conversely, the presence of risk factors does not necessarily mean that the individual will also develop this condition.
Usually, symptoms of an enlarged heart include shortness of breath, difficulty breathing, and dizziness. Additionally, coughing, swelling, and an abnormal heart rhythm can also be symptomatic of an enlarged heart. While there are many reasons for the causes of an enlarged heart, patients should realize that cardiomegaly is not a disease, but a symptom or sign of another medical condition. Although symptoms such as fainting, severe shortness of breath, and chest pain can indicate a heart attack and represent a medical emergency, most symptoms of an enlarged heart can be managed quite effectively if caught early.
Rarely, the causes of an enlarged heart are idiopathic. This means that the condition developed in the absence of other conditions, risk factors, and for no known reason. Typically, when idiopathic cardiomegaly occurs, its signs and symptoms are the same as cardiomegaly that occurs from known risk factors and conditions. Also, the treatment and symptomatic relief are the same. Treatments for cardiomegaly and the causes of an enlarged heart depend on the cause of the condition.
Often, treatment for an enlarged heart includes medications such as diuretics, which reduce the amount of water and sodium in the body. This allows for the lowering of blood pressure in the body, which can prevent further damage to the heart tissue. In addition, beta-blocker drugs, which lower blood pressure and improve heart function, are also effective, as well as digoxin, which helps improve pumping function. Pacemakers and valve surgery are sometimes needed to restore heart function, and in extreme cases, heart transplantation may be necessary when other treatments have failed.
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