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What Does Having An Enlarged Heart Mean?
I read that people having this condition have to wait for a heart transplant
posted on
Sun, 20 Dec 2009
Medically reviewed by
Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team
Wed, 8 Feb 2012
Answered on
Wed, 8 Feb 2012
Last reviewed on
hello and welcome to HCM...
in a broad term enlarged heart means when the heart size enlarged from normal size then called as ENLARGED HEART.
medically it means heart enlarged either by thicness of the heart muscle or by dilatation of the heart size.
in both the condition may be due to various reason like heart VALVA defect, Heart Muscle damage, heart attack, uncontrolled Hypertension, sometime after or during PREGNANCY etc..
so any time it enlrged means needs medcal attention in a urgent basis. becoz once heart is dilated it usually does not revert to a normal size and become weak. for example a lean n thin person are more active than a fatty and heavy person.
good luck
in a broad term enlarged heart means when the heart size enlarged from normal size then called as ENLARGED HEART.
medically it means heart enlarged either by thicness of the heart muscle or by dilatation of the heart size.
in both the condition may be due to various reason like heart VALVA defect, Heart Muscle damage, heart attack, uncontrolled Hypertension, sometime after or during PREGNANCY etc..
so any time it enlrged means needs medcal attention in a urgent basis. becoz once heart is dilated it usually does not revert to a normal size and become weak. for example a lean n thin person are more active than a fatty and heavy person.
good luck
I find this answer helpful
As the name suggests, enlarged heart is an increase in the size of the heart. It's detected by physical examination, X-ray or other imaging tests.
An enlarged heart may be caused by a thickening of the heart muscle because of increased workload. (This increased workload can be due to heart valve disease or high blood pressure, for example.) This is called hypertrophy (hi-PER'tro-fe), which refers to enlargement of an organ or tissue due to an increase in cell size.
Left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) is the medical term for enlargement of the left ventricle. (The left ventricle is the heart's main pumping chamber.) Hypertrophy also occurs in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (hi"per-TRO'fik kar"de-o-mi-OP'ah-the). Enlarged heart may also be a dilation (expansion) of the heart due to damage that weakens the heart muscle. Examples include heart attack, congestive heart failure and dilated cardiomyopathy. (Cardiomyopathy is a serious disease in which the heart muscle becomes inflamed and doesn't work as well as it should.
An enlarged heart may be caused by a thickening of the heart muscle because of increased workload. (This increased workload can be due to heart valve disease or high blood pressure, for example.) This is called hypertrophy (hi-PER'tro-fe), which refers to enlargement of an organ or tissue due to an increase in cell size.
Left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) is the medical term for enlargement of the left ventricle. (The left ventricle is the heart's main pumping chamber.) Hypertrophy also occurs in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (hi"per-TRO'fik kar"de-o-mi-OP'ah-the). Enlarged heart may also be a dilation (expansion) of the heart due to damage that weakens the heart muscle. Examples include heart attack, congestive heart failure and dilated cardiomyopathy. (Cardiomyopathy is a serious disease in which the heart muscle becomes inflamed and doesn't work as well as it should.
I find this answer helpful
User's Response
Matli Das's
Response
The heart is a large muscle and if it has to work harder such is the case with high blood pressure,the left ventricle which is the main pump gets larger.this actually causes it to be less effective
once it reaches a certain size.This does not necessarily mean the person will have to have a transplant ,there are medications that will help.There are other reasons people get(cardiomegaly)enlarged heart but this is what most people are talking about when they use the term enlarged heart.
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