what is a inlarged heart?

Question

what causes an inlarged heart

Answer 1

Enlarged heart or "cardiomyopathy" can be due to several things,heredity, primary or secondary bacterial infections,like "strep",viral infections,alcohol abuse,liver & kidney failure,diabetes,other cardiovascular diseases ,and others.Take care. SW RNP

Answer 2

Cardiomegaly is abnormal enlargement of the heart. It's not a disease, but a sign of an underlying problem. Many conditions can cause an enlarged heart, including:

High blood pressure
Heart valve disorders
Weakness of the heart muscle (cardiomyopathy)
Severe anemia
Thyroid disorders
Excessive iron in the body (hemochromatosis)
Abnormal protein buildup in an organ (amyloidosis)
In some people, an enlarged heart causes no signs or symptoms. Others may have:

Breathing difficulties
Shortness of breath
Dizziness
Abnormal heart rhythm (arrhythmia)
Swelling (edema)
An enlarged heart may be found incidentally on a chest X-ray done for some other reason. A doctor can confirm a diagnosis by an ultrasound of the heart (echocardiogram). Treatment is directed at the underlying cause.

Answer 3

Usually congestive heart failure causes the heart to grow to meet the failing demand for a larger output. Enlarged hearts are diseased hearts, and may require surgery or transplantation.

Best Wishes

Answer 4

A heart enlarges in an attempt to improve pumping efficiency, however at a certain point the enlargement reduces the heart's efficiency and the heart begins to fail.

Answer 5

Cardiomegaly is a medical condition wherein the heart is enlarged. It is generally categorized in the following manner:

Cardiomegaly due to dilation
Cardiomegaly due to ventricular hypertrophy
Left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH)
Right ventricular hypertrophy (RVH)
Left atrial enlargement
It is not always negative; athletes often have enlarged hearts. However, it can often be associated with other serious medical conditions.

Answer 6

cardiomegaly is the term used to describe an enlerged heart.

when you do weight lifting, like working out the biceps in your arms, after a while it becomes bigger and defined because of the hyperactivitiy of that muscle. your heart is also a muscle. the only diferrence is that the muscle in your arms are voluntary (meaning the brain commands it to contract or relax) while your heart is an involuntary muscle (the brain cannot command it to stop) if the heart is over worked (i.e accumulation of blood in any of the chambers of the heart, poor circulation to one or many body organs, electrolyte imbalance) it compensates by increasing its activity (increased heart rate) in its effort to improve circulation around the body, eject the accumulated blood in the chamber or it is stimulated by calcium that makes the heart beat faster.

Answer 7

It means the heart muscle walls have thickened and it makes it harder for the heart to pump efficiently. It is usually caused by obesity, diabetes, alcohol, possible chronic hypertension and some genetic predisposition.