Enlarged Heart

Enlarged Heart & Running

An enlarged heart is, per its name, an increase in the size of the heart. While this condition can be caused by a number of factors, in runners it is typically symptomatic of the thickening of heart muscle resulting from frequent exercise. A...

Diet for an Enlarged Heart

An enlarged heart, also referred to as cardiomegaly, is a symptom of another medical condition, such as heart valve problems and coronary artery disease. Symptoms of an enlarged heart include difficulty breathing, cough, dizziness and chest pain....

Causes of an Enlarged Heart

An enlarged heart or cardiomegaly can be a temporary or chronic condition. It can sometimes be a warning sign of an underlying disease. You can have an enlarged heart without having any symptoms. Other times it can cause chest pain, shortness of...

Risks of an Enlarged Heart

According to the American Heart Association, an enlarged heart is characterized by an increase in the size of the heart that may be caused by an increase in the thickness of the heart muscle. This condition, also called cardiomegaly, is typically...

A Dangerous Enlarged Heart

The heart is a muscular organ which contracts in order to pump blood to the lungs and throughout the rest of the body. Although athletes can have larger than normal hearts that are not a medical problem, there are situations in which the heart can...

The Effects of an Enlarged Heart

Cardiomyopathy is an enlargement of the heart muscle that can have a negative effect on quality of life. The heart can become inflamed and enlarged from conditions such as high blood pressure, birth defects, disorders of the heart valves or from...

Enlarged Heart Procedures

According to the American Heart Association, an enlarged heart is identified through physical exam or other diagnostic procedure. It can occur as a result of damage to the heart muscle from heart attack, congestive heart failure and other...

What Are the Treatments for Enlarged Heart?

An enlarged heart, also called cardiomegaly, commonly stems from a type of heart disease known as cardiomyopathy. When the cardiac muscle becomes enlarged, the soft pliable tissue of the heart turns into a stiff, hardened mass, which in some cases...

Enlarged Heart Causes

An enlarged heart is not a major disease on its own, but it is a precursor to stronger serious diseases. It is a symptom, a warning that something is not right and preventive car must be taken to prevent permanent damage from occurring. The heart...

Enlarged Heart Symptoms

The medical term for an enlarged heart is cardiomyopathy. There are several types of cardiomyopathy, each causing somewhat different effects. Cardiomyopathy can be caused by high blood pressure, certain viral illnesses, coronary artery disease, or...

Complications From an Enlarged Heart

An enlarged heart, medically known as cardiomyopathy, is a condition in which the muscles in the heart gradually weaken. The Mayo Clinic says that cardiomyopathy symptoms include leg swelling, trouble breathing with exertion, fatigue and...

Reasons for an Enlarged Heart

Cardiomyopathy or enlargement of the heart is responsible for 10,000 deaths and 46,000 hospitalizations each year in the United States according to Marilyn Weigner, MD and James Morgan,MD in their UptoDate article "Causes of Dilated...

What Causes Enlarged Heart?

The heart normally pumps blood throughout the body to sustain life. Certain medical conditions may affect the heart muscles, weakening them. The muscle weakness causes the heart to pump harder in effort to supply the same amount of blood that it...

What Causes an Enlarged Heart?

Shortness of breath, dizziness, an abnormal heart rhythm and swelling can all be signs of an enlarged heart, medically known as cardiomegaly. The Mayo Clinic says that other symptoms include dizziness and a cough. Some of its risk factors include...

Can You Exercise With an Enlarged Heart?

Cardiomegaly, or an enlarged heart, can develop for a number of reasons, or according to MayoClinic.com, for no reason at all. Because an enlarged heart is a symptom rather than a condition, treatment first requires that you find, if possible, the...

Enlarged Heart Symptoms & Exercise

Congestive heart failure and heart disease are two of the serious medical conditions that can hurt your body in a number of ways. Yet these conditions -- and several others -- can lead to a health problem with its own risk factors: an enlarged...

Medications That Can Cause an Enlarged Heart

An enlarged heart, also known as cardiomegaly, is a condition with a number of causes, according to the Better Health Channel. It comes in both asymptomatic and symptomatic forms, and has been linked with negative heart events, such as fluid...

What Causes a Slightly Enlarged Heart?

Cardiomegaly is the medical term used to describe an enlarged heart. While usually detected by an X-ray, this condition is considered a symptom of an underlying disease, such as coronary artery disease. In some cases, however, it may be a...

Enlarged Heart Treatment and Symptoms

An enlarged heart, or cardiomegaly, is often a symptom of one of several underlying conditions. Some conditions that can cause an enlarged heart include high blood pressure, heart failure, coronary artery disease, a heart valve problem, and...

Symptoms of an Enlarged Heart in a Newborn

Many diseases in infants can lead to an enlarged heart, also known as cardiac hypertrophy. Congenital defects, acquired cardiac problems that occur right after birth and maternal diseases such as diabetes can cause enlarged hearts. The right or...

Medical Symptoms of an Enlarged Heart

Many conditions cause an enlarged heart including damage from cardiovascular disease, inborn heart defects and genetic disorders, problems with the heart valves, high blood pressure, infections and inflammatory diseases, toxins and primary...

Enlarged Heart Medical Symptoms

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is a heart disease characterized by the asymmetrical enlargement of a section of the heart, notes MedlinePlus, a service of the National Institutes of Health. The predisposition for this disease may be hereditary....

What Are Risks of Enlarged Heart Ventricles?

There are two types of heart disease with enlarged heart ventricles--dilated cardiomyopathy and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. In dilated cardiomyopathy, the cavity is enlarged and the heart muscle is thin and weak. In hypertrophic cardiomyopathy,...

What Are the Treatments for Enlarged Heart in Infants?

A number of conditions can lead to heart enlargement, also called cardiac hypertrophy, in infants. Around 1 percent of infants have congenital cardiac defects, the most common congenital defect found in newborns, the American Heart Association...

Calcium Channel Blockers for an Enlarged Heart

Enlarged heart or cardiomelagy is not a disease but a symptom of a health condition. An enlarged heart is caused by thickening and weakening of the heart's muscle due to health conditions, such as hypertension, coronary artery disease, heart valve...

Can Lack of Exercise Cause an Enlarged Heart?

Cardiomegaly, or an enlarged heart, is a symptom of a cardiac problem. The primary illness can include a number of conditions, such as coronary artery disease or abnormal heart rhythms. Exercise is an important part of heart health, however, an...

Coenzyme Q10 for an Enlarged Heart

An enlarged heart is the typical progression of heart failure. As one of the most prevalent diseases in the developed world, countless amounts of money funnel into medical research looking for the cure, or a promise of relief; yet, it is the...

Strenuous Exercise & an Enlarged Heart

Exercise can produce many physical changes in the heart. According to heart researcher Gerald Dorn, these changes are known as cardiac remodeling, or "athlete's heart." Athlete's heart, according to researchers Booher and Smith, occurs because the...

Should a Person with an Enlarged Heart Exercise?

An enlarged heart, or cardiomegaly, is a symptom of another medical condition; it is not a disease in itself. The condition is often treatable if therapy is directed at treating the underlying cause of the heart enlargement. Medications, surgery...

Overactive Thyroid Health Video (Video)

Anyone know where their thyroid is located? Your thyroid is a butterfly-shaped gland located at the base of your neck, just below your Adam's apple. Although it weighs less than an ounce, the thyroid gland has an enormous impact on your health....

Mitral Stenosis Health Video (Video)

Mitral stenosis is a vavular heart disease denoting the narrowing of the heart's mitral valve. Learn more about mitral stenosis and the heart in this health video.