For many, a diagnosis of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy comes too late. Strenuous athletic competitive activity is often the trigger for sudden death in those with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. However, a moderate exercise program with guidance may...
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....
The human heart consists of four chambers: the two upper chambers, which receive blood and are known as the atria, and the two lower chambers, which pump blood and are known as the ventricles. The left ventricle pumps oxygenated blood into the...
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,...
Exercise places stress on the heart, but in most cases, that stress helps keep the heart healthy. Exercise is often recommended for preventing heart disease and managing many heart conditions. However, it can be dangerous for people with certain...
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...
Hypertensive heart disease describes a group of heart problems that occur due to high blood pressure. High blood pressure, as defined by the American Heart Association, occurs when the systolic pressure--the top number on a blood pressure...
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...
Calcium channel blockers are typically prescribed to treat high blood pressure, chest pain and irregular heart rhythm. They may be used to treat cardiomyopathy, which is a disease that causes the heart muscles to become weak and inflamed. Common...
Exercise affects your heart and circulatory system, including your blood pressure. Most people experience a temporary increase in pulse rate and blood pressure during intense exercise, although people who use a certain type of defibrillator for a...
A thick heart is the most common cause of sudden death in children and young adults; death from this cause often happens during strenuous exercise or exertion. Many people with this condition have it as a result of a genetic disorder. An enlarged...
Alcohol ablation treatment is typically used to treat some cases of the heart condition cardiomyopathy. Though the most common treatment involves taking beta blockers or calcium channel blockers, surgical treatment or alcohol ablation treatment...
Diseases related to myocardia or heart muscle cells are termed cardiomyopathy. They are a common cause of heart failure, and the Cleveland Clinic underlines that more than 36,000 people with cardiomyopathy are admitted to the hospital every year...
A pacemaker is a medical device that is inserted into the body in order to regulate abnormal heart rhythms. Pacemakers exert their therapeutic effect by emitting a a low electrical current that stimulates the heart muscle to contract. There are...
Exercising regularly makes your muscles stronger, including your heart. When your heart is strong, it pumps more blood during exercise with less effort. This reduction in effort helps lowers blood pressure in people with high blood pressure....
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, heart disease is the leading cause of death in both American men and women. There are many types of heart disease that include irregular heart rhythm, atrial fibrillation, congenital...
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...
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...
The left atrium is the chamber of the heart that receives oxygenated blood from the lungs. The heart pumps blood from the left atrium, through the mitral valve, into the left ventricle and out to the body. Any condition that increases pressure in...
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...
Whether referred to as "heart disease" or "cardiovascular disease," conditions of the heart are extremely dangerous. Heart disease is the No. 1 worldwide killer of men and women, according to MayoClinic.com. Among the many types of cardiovascular...
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...
Pulmonary edema, which is abnormal accumulation of fluid in the lungs, often occurs as a result of heart failure. Pulmonary edema occurs when the left ventricle of the heart, which receives oxygenated blood from the lungs, weakens and pumps less...
There are several types of heart disease. Among these types are the diseases that affect your heart's arteries, its muscle layer, as well as the membrane that covers it. The term coronary arteries refers to the arteries of your heart. The muscle...
Each cell in the human body contains about 25,000 to 35,000 genes, which carry deoxyribose nucleic acid, or DNA, which determines each characteristic a person will possess, according to the Nemours Foundation. Damage to the DNA causes the gene to...
"Hardcore Pharmacology" states that calcium channel blockers, or CCBs, are potent antiarrhthymics. CCBs inhibit calcium ions from entering cardiac muscle cells during contraction. This action relaxes the cardiac muscle and causes vasodilation of...
Exercise-induced tachycardia in elite athletes can be either benign or malignant. A normal response to exercise is an elevated sinus tachycardia and is perfectly safe. However, ventricular tachycardia is a malignant arrhythmia that can lead to...
CoQ10 is an enzyme required for energy production in body cells. It's most concentrated in energy-demanding organs such as the heart, liver, kidney and pancreas. Your body can make CoQ10 from the amino acid tyrosine, but it can also be consumed...
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports heart disease as the leading cause of death in the U.S. Many different disorders and diseases affect the heart; some are inherited, most are acquired throughout the course of life. Heart...
Cardiomyopathy refers to deteriorating in the function of the heart muscle itself, which can lead to further medical difficulties. Learn more about cardiomyopathy, including symptoms and treatment options in this video.