Cardiomegaly: Overview, causes, symptoms and treatment

What is Cardiomegaly?

A heart that is larger than normal (cardiomegaly) is referred to as an oversized heart. It’s possible that your heart is especially thick or dilated (stretched). Depending on the cardiomegaly causes, it might be transient or permanent.

An oversized heart struggles to pump blood effectively. As a result, having an enlarged heart raises your risk of heart problems like heart failure or stroke.

It’s not an illness, but rather a symptom of something else. Mild cardiomegaly refers to less severe forms of this condition.

Cardiomegaly causes by a temporary load on the body, such as pregnancy, or by a medical condition, such as heart muscle weakening, coronary artery disease, heart valve abnormalities, or irregular heart rhythms.

Many persons with a slightly oversized heart are unaware of the problem since mild conditions do not often create enlarged heart symptoms. It is only transient in some people and will go away on its own.

Others, on the other hand, may have permanent cardiomegaly. This symptom, as well as the underlying cardiomegaly causes, must be addressed immediately to avoid further cardiac damage. Medication, surgery, and lifestyle modifications are all options for enlarged heart treatment.

Types

Cardiomyopathy is a myocardial (heart muscle) illness that produces this condition. Cardiomyopathy is divided into two categories.

Dilative cardiomyopathy (DCM) is a kind of cardiomyopathy in which the left ventricle, which is the heart’s principal pumping chamber, is characterised by a large, poorly functioning left ventricle of this kind. The most common cardiomegaly causes are dilative cardiomyopathy.

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is a type of cardiomyopathy in which the heart muscle cells become larger and the walls of the ventricles thicken. Blood flow might be hampered by this thickening of the ventricular wall.

Enlarged heart Symptoms

An oversized heart can generate no symptoms in some persons. Other enlarged heart symptoms associated with an enlarged heart include:

• Irregular heartbeats
• Chest discomfort
• Coughing
• Dizziness
• Extreme exhaustion
• Breathing problems
• Stomach bloating
• Oedema (swelling) in the legs, foot, or abdomen is common
• Heart fluttering

Cardiomegaly causes

Conditions that cause your heart to pump harder than usual or damage your heart muscle might produce an oversized heart. For unexplained reasons, the heart might grow larger and become weak. Idiopathic cardiomegaly is the medical term for this condition. The following are some of the other conditions linked to an enlarged heart:

1. High blood pressure: High blood pressure can cause the left ventricle to expand, eventually weakening the heart muscle. High blood pressure might cause your heart’s upper chambers to expand.
2. Cardiomyopathy: This heart condition makes it more difficult for your heart to pump blood throughout your body. As the condition worsens, your heart may enlarge in an attempt to pump more blood.
3. Fluid around your heart (pericardial effusion): The fluid that surrounds your heart (pericardial effusion). On a chest X-ray, fluid accumulation in the sac that holds your heart might cause your heart to appear larger.
4. Anaemia: It is a disorder in which your red blood cells aren’t enough to supply enough oxygen to your tissues. Chronic anaemia, if left untreated, can cause a rapid or irregular heartbeat. To compensate for the lack of oxygen in the blood, your heart must pump more blood.
5. Thyroid problems: Heart issues, including an oversized heart, can be caused by both an underactive thyroid gland (hypothyroidism) and an overactive thyroid gland (hyperthyroidism).
6. Excessive alcohol or drug consumption: It might result in a mild type of cardiomegaly. Treatment will aid in the recovery of this illness. Acute stress-induced cardiomyopathy can be caused by extreme stress.
7. Pregnancy: Around the time of delivery, the heart can sometimes grow larger. Peripartum cardiomyopathy is a term for this form of cardiomegaly.

Diagnosis

1. Blood test: These tests can reveal indicators in the blood that indicate a problem.
2. Chest X-ray: A chest X-ray can reveal the health of the heart and lungs. In most cases, additional tests will be required to discover the cardiomegaly causes.
3. Stress test: A stress test entails exercising on a treadmill or exercise bike while being monitored by heart and blood pressure monitors. The findings show how the heart works during physical exertion.
4. Cardiac biopsy: A catheter is introduced into the groin and sent through the blood arteries to the heart during a cardiac biopsy. A little sample of cardiac tissue is removed and tested from here.
5. Echocardiogram: This test employs sound waves to create a visual image of the heart, allowing clinicians to analyse the condition of its chambers. It reveals any enlargement, congenital cardiac disease, damage from heart attacks, and the heart’s pumping efficiency.
6. Other imaging procedures include: Images of the heart and chest may be collected using a CT scan or an MRI scan.
7. Electrocardiogram (ECG): It is a test that records the electrical activity of the heart and diagnoses irregularities in its rhythm.

Enlarged heart Treatment

1. Medications

• Antiarrhythmics are medications that maintain the regular rhythm of your heartbeat.
• Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors reduce your blood pressure and increase the pumping capacity of your heart
• Angiotensin II receptor blockers (Arabs) For those who can’t take ACE inhibitors, they provide the same benefits.
• Beta-blockers are used to lower blood pressure and improve the function of the heart.
• Diuretics (salt or water pills) are used to reduce sodium and water levels in the body.

2. Medical device

If drugs do not effectively treat mild conditions, or if enlarged heart symptoms become moderate or severe, a medical device may be required.

In patients with dilative cardiomyopathy, a pacemaker may be implanted to help control their heartbeat. People with severe arrhythmias may need an implanted cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) to manage their cardiac rhythm using shocks.

Also Read-Intermittent Claudication: Causes, Symptoms and treatments

3. Surgery

Surgery is usually reserved for situations that are more severe or that have failed to respond to previous enlarged heart treatment. The following operations may be advised for persons with cardiomegaly, depending on a variety of factors:

• Heart valve surgery
• Coronary bypass surgery
• Heart transplant

4. Lifestyle changes and home remedies

The following lifestyle and dietary adjustments may help people to ease their enlarged heart symptoms:

• Smoking cessation
• Keeping a healthy body weight
• Regularly checking blood pressure, and engaging in physical activity on most days of the week
• Avoiding alcohol and caffeine
• Increasing fruit and vegetable intake by 7 to 9 hours per night 
• Replacing refined carbohydrates, such as white bread and pasta, with whole-grain equivalents avoiding processed, high-sugar, and high-fat foods.

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