Everything You Need To Know About Heart enlargement (cardiomegaly) Treatment

Symptoms

An enlarged heart can sometimes go undetected. If it is unable to adequately pump blood, you may have symptoms of congestive heart failure, such as:

• Breathing difficulty (especially when active or when lying flat).
• Swelling of the legs.
• Weight gain, especially in the midsection.
• Tired sensation.
• Heart palpitations or skipped beats.

Some people may never experience symptoms. Others may have minor details that do not change for years. Others may have shortness of breath that gradually worsens.

Treatments

These frequently concentrate on the underlying cause, such as:

Coronary bypass surgery: By removing blockages in the blood arteries that give oxygen to the heart, blood flow to the heart muscle can be increased. If your heart is enlarged due to a blockage, its pumping capacity may improve.

Hypertension: Controlling high blood pressure can help avoid additional harm. It can also improve the performance of your heart.

Using alcohol or drugs: Stopping the usage of dangerous chemicals can improve symptoms of an enlarged heart as well as cardiac function.

Heart valve disease: In certain cases, surgery or a less intrusive method can repair or replace a defective heart valve that is causing cardiomegaly.

When an enlarged heart causes congestive heart failure, additional medications, such as diuretics, focus on relieving symptoms and maintaining your heart functioning normally. Water tablets cause you to pee more. This implies that the heart does not have to work as hard. These also assist to reduce edema in the legs.

Beta-blockers and angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors. These are commonly used to treat high blood pressure, but they also promote heart health.

Implantable cardioverter-defibrillator. If the heart stops beating, a device implanted in the chest can restart it. Some of these can also assist the heart in pumping more efficiently.

A heart transplant may be considered in a very small number of persons who have cardiomegaly and severe congestive heart failure.

What factors led to cardiomegaly?

Any condition that causes your heart to work harder might cause it to expand. Just like your arm or leg muscles get larger when you exercise, your heart grows larger when it needs to work harder. However, unlike your arm or leg muscles, your heart does not necessarily get more efficient as it grows in size.

Because of difficulties with the underlying cardiac muscle, several disease processes can cause the heart to dilate. In some circumstances, despite the fact that the heart is larger, its function worsens.

Coronary artery disease is the most prevalent cause of an enlarged heart (which can lead to a heart attack).

Other reasons for an enlarged heart include:

• Anemia.
• Pregnancy.
• Arthritis rheumatoid.
• Arrhythmia (abnormal heart rhythm).
• Sarcoidosis.
• Cardiomyopathy.
• Heart defect during birth.
• Heart disease is caused by hypertension.
• Failure of the kidneys.
• Myocarditis is caused by a viral infection.
• Valve disease of the heart.
• Hyperthyroidism.
• Hypothyroidism.

COPD and pulmonary hypertension are examples of lung illnesses.

Elite athletes may have an enlarged heart as a result of a repetitive exercise in some situations. Despite the enlargement, the heart's function will be normal (or perhaps better than usual) in this situation.