What Is Cardiac Enlargement?


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Home \| General Health \| Heart & Cardio What Is Cardiac Enlargement? By: Pratibha Rawal Cardiac enlargement refers to an increase in the size of the heart. There are two types of cardiac enlargement: Hypertrophy and dilation. (Though usually occurring separately, they may occur at the same time.) Hypertrophy involves an increase in the thickness of the heart muscle. Dilation involves an increase in the size of the inside cavity of a chamber of the heart. Hypertrophy usually occurs in only one chamber while dilation may occur in one , two, three, or all of the chambers, based on its cause. In most cases, cardiac enlargement is abnormal and accompanied by additional cardiovascular problems. The one exception is regular aerobic exercise, which produces a beneficial enlargement involving both hypertrophy and dilation of the heart. Symptoms It is possible to be a victim of heart enlargement and have no symptoms. Once the conditions sets in and starts to affect the basic functions of the heart, symptoms can be expected. Understanding and recognizing these symptoms will ensure that adequate care is given. The more serious symptoms will ensure that adequate care is given. The more serious symptoms involve shortness of breath, pain and pressure in the cheat, loss of consciousness, light headedness and the swelling of the feet or ankles. In its mildest forms, the symptoms are only experiences during activities that cause exertion. In more severe cases, these symptoms can happen at any time. Hypertrophy, or thickening, of the heart muscle occurs in response to increased stress on the heart. It typically involves one of the bottom chambers of the heart, which are known as the ventricles. The right ventricle pumps blood to the lungs and the left ventricle pumps blood to the body. The most common causes of hypertrophy are related to increased blood pressure in either the lungs or the body. The extra work of pumping blood against the increased pressure causes the ventricle to thicken over time, the same way a body muscle increases in mass in response to weightlifting. The most common causes of dilation are conditions that directly damage the heart muscle. The heart’s healing response is a thinning and stretching-out of the muscle. Types of damage include prior heart attack, long-term alcohol abuse, and heart muscle inflammation. Heart muscle inflammation, or myocarditis, is sometimes of unknown cause and is often associated with a viral infection or interaction between the immune system and the heart muscle. This immune reaction can be seen with inflammatory diseases like lupus or toward the end of pregnancy. Treatment Once the enlarged heart starts to exhibit some of the serious symptoms, the condition must be treated as mush as the conditions causing it. One form of treatment for heart enlargement is a form of ACE inhibitor medications. These medications assists in lighting the load on heart’s pumping function and keeps the heart from becoming even more enlarged. When heart enlargement leads to acute heart failure, diuretics are used as a treatment. Other treatments of an enlarged heart are the adoption of lifestyle changes. The first thing is to eat low-fat, balanced diet. This diet not only improves the overall health of the body, it also helps to maintain healthy cholesterol levels. Adopt a regular exercise program as well. Before doing this, consult a physician to design an exercise regimen that correlates with your present health issues and do visit a physician on regular bases to properly monitor your blood pressure and valve disease treatment. Avoid alcohol as it may reverse of the positive effects of the treatments. Health Article Source: www.healthandwellnesscentral.com Pratibha Rawal is an expert author of health and wellness articles. She is the editor of www.healthandwellnesscentral.com. To see more health and wellness articles please visit Health and Wellness Article site. You can reprint this articles with the author's resource box with the links intact. Please Rate this Article Not yet Rated Click the XML Icon Above to Receive Heart & Cardio Articles Via RSS! Additional Articles From - Home \| General Health \| Heart & Cardio	Sign Up free or Learn More Home Member Login Submit Articles Top Authors Most Popular Articles Submission Guidelines Ezine Notifications Article RSS Feeds Bookmark This Site! Hair Loss Specialists is a leading source of information for healthy ways to get hair transplantion, from Seattle to Florida!