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. Treating an enlarged heart includes managing the underlying cause of the condition with medication, surgery and lifestyle changes. Following a special diet may also help ease the symptoms associated with an enlarged heart.
Exercise can improve the condition of your heart by strengthening the heart muscles, which improves its function though it does not actually make it grow in size. An enlarged heart is a result of one of a number of conditions, ...
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 he...
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 fi...
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. Me...
Yet these conditions -- and several others -- can lead to a health problem with its own risk factors: an enlarged heart. If you have an enlarged heart, it's essential that you understand the potential complications of this cond...
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 freque...
The magnitude of heart adaptation is related to the intensity and duration of exercise. According to Dorn, prolonged endurance activities are most likely to promote an enlarged heart.
Although athletes can have larger than normal hearts that are not a medical problem, there are situations in which the heart can become too large. A dangerously enlarged heart is typically a sign of a serious underlying problem...
The predisposition for this disease may be hereditary. Enlarged heart conditions may be detected as early as infancy, according to the American Heart Association.
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,...
Around 1 percent of infants have congenital cardiac defects, the most common congenital defect found in newborns, the American Heart Association reports. Congestive heart failure and cardiomyopathy are two conditions that resul...
Just like any muscle, when the heart works harder, it becomes larger. In the case of the heart; however, larger is not better. Many conditions affect the heart, causing it to pump harder and therefore resulting in an enlarged v...
The corpora cavernosa is sponge-like tissue located in the penis that expands as it fills with blood to create an erection. The chambers in the tissue are able to enlarge as blood rushes in, often growing several times larger t...
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 hypertroph...
Being overweight, sedentary, eating an unhealthy diet, smoking and various diseases can cause problems with the heart muscle which interfere with its ability to function properly. This includes conditions which cause the heart ...
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 could at normal strength. The heart enlarges in o...
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 failur...
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,...
This impairment frequently leads to heart failure also called congestive heart failure. There are multiple reasons for an enlarged heart.
The left ventricle is the stronger of the two ventricles and the most susceptible to damage from high blood pressure or other diseases that cause the ventricle to enlarge, or dilate.
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 r...
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, coronar...
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 ...
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, ...
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 o...
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, f...
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 he...
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 cardiom...
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 valv...