Cardiomegaly, its Symptoms, Causes, Diagnosis, and Treatment

Cardiomegaly

Cardiomegaly:

Cardiomegaly (bull heart syndrome) is an increase in the size and mass of the heart. It may be congenital, but more often it is an independent disease that accompanies other pathologies of the cardiovascular system.

Mechanism:

The cardiovascular system, specifically the heart, is impacted by the condition known as cardiomegaly. Congestive heart failure and this condition are closely related. [16] The working fibers of the myocardial tissue enlarge inside the heart. Actin and myosin filaments experience less overlap as the heart contracts harder, resulting in larger myocardial fibers. The ability of actin and myosin protein filaments to pull on one another in the sarcomeres of muscle fibers will be reduced if there is less overlap between them. These filaments can't effectively pull against one another to shorten the muscle fibers if the heart tissue (walls of the left and right ventricle) grows too large and stretches too far, which affects the heart's sliding filament mechanism. Blood cannot be effectively pumped to the body to deliver oxygen to the working tissues of the body if fibers cannot shorten appropriately and the heart cannot contract appropriately. [Reference needed]

A person's risk of developing blood clots in their heart's lining increases if they have an enlarged heart. Other areas of the body may also develop these clots. The blockage that the clots cause once they enter the bloodstream makes it challenging for the body's organs to receive blood. This may also have an effect on other bodily functions and cause other issues.

Causes:

An increase in the size of the heart refers to the natural processes in some people, in particular, in athletes or those who often engage in physical labor. In such cases, the heart needs to pump large volumes of blood, as a result of which the muscle fibers stretch and increase in volume.

But when a bull's heart is diagnosed, the picture is different: the heart organ becomes flabby and emaciated due to illness, and the muscle fibers do not stretch, because there is not enough strength for normal work. Or an increase in the heart is observed in hypertension when the body has to involuntarily gain momentum to overcome the pressure that has arisen in the system - this also contributes to the growth of heart failure and wear and tear of the organ.

Cardiomegaly is the fetus and neurons are called congenital or idiopathic. Its cause is a hereditary predisposition to the disease. The prognosis for this form of the syndrome is unfavorable.

Acquired cardiomegaly in children and adults is a consequence of such health problems as:

• Hypertension;
• Kidney disease;
• Cardiac ischemia;
• Viruses or infections that affect the heart;
• Drug or alcohol abuse;
• Genetic factors, since the symptom sometimes occurs in newborns or prenatal children;
• Development of a heart valve with anomalies;
• Consequences of pregnancy and childbirth.
• Arterial hypertension;
• Heart defects;
• Cardiac ischemia;
• Emphysema;
• Myocarditis;
• Pneumosclerosis.

It should be noted that: cardiomegaly disease is not always associated with pathologies of the cardiovascular system. It can be provoked by violations in the work of other organs.

Symptoms:

An increase in the mass of the heart is an insidious pathology that is not marked by certain symptoms. But, first of all, it is necessary to be careful if there is an arrhythmia or frequent shortness of breath, swelling, or pain in the cardiac region. Most of these signs manifest themselves in other heart diseases. Signs of an enlarged heart can usually only be identified with a specific medical examination.

Cardiomegaly is a clinically hidden syndrome. It always masquerades as signs of other diseases or proceeds without obvious symptoms. In most patients, cardiomegaly manifests itself:

• Tachycardia;
• Pain in the region of the heart;
• Shortness of breath;
• Increased fatigue;
• Peripheral edema;
• Orthopnea.
• Most often, the disease in adults is discovered by chance during the next physical examination.

Diagnosis:

To identify the "bull heart" syndrome (as cardiomegaly is called informally), cardiologists use the following diagnostic methods:

• Palpation of the cardiac region, listening to the heart;
• CT scan;
• Echocardiography;
• Ultrasound of the heart;
• ECG;
• Chest x-ray;

X-ray pictures allow doctors to see how the heart and lungs are doing. Other tests are typically required to determine the cause of an enlarged heart seen on an X-ray. The cardiothoracic ratio, which compares the heart's transverse diameter to that of the thoracic cage, is a useful X-ray measurement. These diameters were calculated from PA chest x-rays by measuring from the widest point of the chest to the lung pleura rather than the lateral skin margins. If the x-ray was taken properly, pathology is suspected if the cardiac thoracic ratio is greater than 50%. To screen potential military recruits, the measurement was initially proposed in 1919. A more recent method of using these x-rays to assess heart health takes the ratio of heart area to chest area called the two-dimensional cardiothoracic ratio

• Blood analysis;

Biopsy (taking a tissue sample from the inner surface of the ventricles of the heart) is extremely rare.

A doctor can suspect cardiomegaly when detecting heart murmurs characteristic of this disease, and protrusion of the organ during palpation. Quite often, a change in size is visible on x-rays. But the most reliable information on cardiomegaly gives ultrasound.

Treatment:

Treatment of cardiomegaly (with the exception of the "bull heart" syndrome in newborns) begins with the elimination of the causes that caused the disease. Both medical therapy and surgical methods can be used here. So, for example, with arterial hypertension, drugs provide a decrease in pressure, and with kidney diseases - the removal of excess fluid from the body. If cardiomegaly is caused by damage to the heart valves, a cardiac surgeon will repair them surgically.

In situations where the cause of the pathology is drugs or alcohol, the patient's condition will improve only if he gives up the bad habit. The results of treatment directly depend on the stage and causes. Some patients manage to recover completely, while others have to take medication all their lives. In severe cases, a heart transplant is performed.

Risk Factors:

Patients with:

• Arterial hypertension;
• Congenital heart disease;
• Who has had a heart attack?
• Having a hereditary predisposition (someone in the family already had cardiomegaly).
• How it Dangerous:
• Due to the increase in the size of the heart, serious health problems can arise. Among them:
• Thrombus formation;
• Violation of the heart rhythm;
• Heart failure.
• Individuals with an enlarged left ventricle are at greater risk.

Prevention:

Since cardiomegaly (with the exception of the congenital form) is not an independent disease, prevention is aimed at preventing the development of disease provocateurs. It is important to exclude risk factors that lead to high blood pressure, coronary heart disease, and lung problems. It is also necessary to give up smoking, drugs, and alcoholic beverages.

• Prevention of congenital cardiomegaly includes:
• Registration up to 12 weeks of pregnancy;
• Compliance with medical recommendations;
• Rejection of bad habits;
• Eating only wholesome foods.