Cardiomegaly – An Enlarged Heart: Diagnosis, Treatment & Prevention

Cardiomegaly is the medical term for the abnormal enlargement of one’s heart. Almost all types of muscles have this tendency, and it’s a benign occurrence in most, but if the heart is involved, it’s a completely different story.

Patients often have varying degrees of cardiomegaly, and there are cases that are considered harmless. However, this doesn’t immediately mean that it should be overlooked like other forms of muscle enlargement. Heart enlargement is a sign that the said organ may not be functioning optimally anymore. This alone should provide enough reason for the patient to undergo a more thorough checkup to be given a more comprehensive diagnosis.

How Cardiomegaly is Usually Diagnosed?

Accurate diagnosis is one of the first steps that healthcare providers take in order to effectively handle cases of cardiomegaly. There are myriad causes of the condition but almost all cases have similar symptoms. Oftentimes, it could be asymptomatic, though, thus necessitating the use of more specialized diagnostic tools. The following are, more or less, what doctors usually rely on:

1. Chest X-Ray — In most cases, a standard chest x-ray will suffice as a way to discover any abnormal enlargement of the heart. The results would reveal a larger image of the heart, and this is enough to detect cardiomegaly. However, chest x-rays are rarely a stand-alone diagnostic tool. It simply gives doctors an initial view. As for pinpointing the underlying cause of the heart’s swelling in size, other procedures are employed for this

2. ECG — Electrocardiograms can effectively rule out many common heart ailments and cardiomegaly is not an exception to this. Heart rhythms are a good indicator of the overall state of a patient’s heart health, and any deviations in them could lead to the detection of cardiomegaly cases.

3. Stress test — Some doctors will also recommend patients to undergo a stress test if electrocardiograms aren’t enough. They usually do this as a precautionary measure and completely rule out The state of the heart during rest largely differs from when it’s being put under physical stress, after all. Some symptoms of cardiomegaly might only manifest themselves while the patient is physically exerting.

The above are the primary ways cardiomegaly is detected. Nonetheless, other physicians also rely on other procedures like blood tests (complete blood count), CT scans, and biopsies. Oftentimes, they do this to simply rule out other conditions that the patient might have. Some cardiologists also have a more thorough approach in their diagnostic approach, hence, making it nothing short of necessary for them to do a more complete checkup using all the tools available.

Effective Treatment Options for Cardiomegaly

Cardiomegaly can be effectively treated using standard medications. If the patient is suffering from high blood pressure (one of the main culprits behind heart enlargement), then he can expect to be given a prescription of diuretics (to decrease sodium and water), ACE (angiotensin-converting enzyme) inhibitors and beta blockers.

If the patient has a high risk for blood clots then he also needs to be put under an anticoagulant regimen. Furthermore, if it happens that cardiomegaly is due to arrhythmias then the patient could be administered with antiarrhythmics.

Certain cases might require more than medications to be solved, though. In these cases, surgery would be the only option left. Depending on the severity of the condition, this could mean undergoing heart valve surgery (if the enlargement is substantial enough to cause blockages in the heart valves) or coronary bypass surgery (if the cardiomegaly of the patient is brought about mainly by a condition called coronary artery disease).

Medical devices that monitor your heart or help regulate its beating are also indispensable. Holter monitoring services offer solutions that help mitigate and prevent further development of cardiomegaly through continuous monitoring of heart rhythm. Other heart monitoring solutions include ICD5 and pacemakers that are able to address arrhythmias that have a similar benefit of stopping cardiomegaly in its tracks.

Preventive Measures that Can be Taken

Prevention is another approach that most cardiac doctors encourage as well. With the aid of long term Holter monitor, this can nowadays be easily applied and introduced to patients. There are multiple ways in which patients would be able to reduce their risk of getting cardiomegaly later in life. Most of them are directly related to maintaining heart health in general.

For one, exercising and adopting a better diet with the goal of shedding excess pounds are already good steps in the right direction. Making sure your blood pressure is maintained should be a top priority. It wouldn’t be a surprise if your primary physician and dlong term Holter monitorietician will put you on a strict salt allowance since it’s the main source of sodium in our diets.

If you’re a smoker, you have no other option but to quit for good. Those who are also diabetics are at a more increased risk of getting cardiomegaly as well so it’s vital that they take the needed medicines to keep the said chronic condition in check.

Other steps you can take include limiting caffeine and cutting back on alcohol. It also wouldn’t hurt to make it a priority to increase your sleep quality and aim to get as much as 8 hours of sleep every night. These measures go a long way in aiding the prevention of not only cardiomegaly but also a host of other ailments associated with poor lifestyle choices.

Conclusion

As is apparent from the facts stated above, cardiomegaly is a highly treatable and preventable condition. Thanks to numerous advancements in medical technology and holter monitoring devices, most common heart conditions are no longer hard to handle for patient and doctor alike.

Having an enlarged heart is alarming for it can lead to sudden death due to heart attack and stroke. This is why even if the condition is treatable, it’s a must for just about any patient to not overlook it If you already have a history of heart disease in your family or are prone to getting the cardiac disease, you shouldn’t hesitate to have your heart checked. As long as you always step ahead of these ailments, prevention is also always within reach. Contact Dr Gerard Leong clinic.