Table of contents:
- What is an enlarged heart condition (cardiomegaly)?
- What are the symptoms and signs of an enlarged heart?
- What causes a swollen heart?
- Diseases and conditions that cause the heart to swell
- 1. Coronary artery disease
- 2.High blood pressure (hypertension)
- 3. Dilated cardiomyopathy
- 5. Heart valve disease
- 6. Cardiac ischemic
- 7. Thyroid disorders
- 8. Obesity
- 9. Age is getting older
Have you ever found out how great your heart is? Or have you ever realized how big your heart can pump blood to flow throughout the body? The heart is one of the most vital and important organs in the body. If the heart stops beating, then a moment later all the organs will also stop functioning.
Everyone has a different heart size and size, but you can measure the size of your heart by looking at your fist. That's about the size of an organ that is working all the time to pump blood. As for weight, it is estimated that the human heart weighs an average of 280 - 340 grams in men, and 230 - 280 grams for women. Not only that, the heart beats at least 100 thousand times per day and always supplies an average of 2000 gallons of blood for the whole body. When the blood is not supplied properly and there is a disturbance in the heart, then you can experience a swollen heart.
What is an enlarged heart condition (cardiomegaly)?
Heart swelling or cardiomegaly is not a disease, but is a symptom and sign of a heart disease being experienced. Sometimes, you may experience an enlarged heart due to certain conditions, such as being pregnant. But more often people who have swollen hearts are experiencing serious heart disease. An enlarged heart can be caused by damage to the heart muscle. Until a certain size, the swollen heart can still function normally. However, it still decreases the ability of heart function to decrease.
What are the symptoms and signs of an enlarged heart?
For some cases, an enlarged heart doesn't cause any symptoms or signs. However, when these symptoms are seen and appear, this may be due to the heart being unable to work normally and effectively and causing congestive heart failure, here are the symptoms and signs:
- Having problems with breathing
- Shortness of breath, especially when you are on the move
- Irregular heartbeat, aka arrhythmia
- There is swelling in several parts of the body. This swelling is caused by the accumulation of fluid in that area.
- The heart feels pounding
- Feeling tired
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What causes a swollen heart?
In almost all conditions, a swollen heart is caused by blood clots and high blood pressure which then interferes with the blood flow of the heart. In addition, there are still several possibilities that can cause the heart to swell, namely:
- Abnormal heart valve
- Pregnancy, heart swelling occurs when approaching the day of birth and this is known as perpartum cardiomyopathy
- Experiencing kidney disease and disorders
- Alcohol consumption and drug abuse
- HIV infection
- Genetic
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Diseases and conditions that cause the heart to swell
Several other heart conditions or diseases can also cause the heart to swell, such as:
1. Coronary artery disease
Namely a condition in which there is fat or plaque that clogs the coronary arteries. This disease is more commonly known as atherosclerosis. This condition makes the supply of oxygen to be reduced to the heart, so that there is no fuel to pump blood.
2.High blood pressure (hypertension)
When people have hypertension, the heart pumps blood heavier than people who have normal blood pressure. This will make the heart muscle thicken as it works harder.
3. Dilated cardiomyopathy
Is the type that usually occurs in people who experience a swollen heart. The walls of the heart - known as the ventricles or chambers - become thin and stretched too much in this condition. And this is what makes the heart bigger.
4. Myocarditis
Is a heart infection caused by a virus. A person suffering from this disease is initially infected with a virus, but over time this disease results in a person experiencing congestive heart failure.
5. Heart valve disease
Various problems with the heart valves can cause the heart to swell, because the valves in the heart function to prevent blood flow from flowing against the current.
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6. Cardiac ischemic
Namely a condition in which heart cells are damaged and ultimately reduce blood flow to the heart. This can also cause chest pain.
7. Thyroid disorders
The thyroid gland regulates various body metabolism. If this disorder is not resolved properly, it can cause high blood pressure, increased cholesterol levels, and erratic heartbeats or arrhythmias.
8. Obesity
Occurs when there is fat accumulating in the body. Obese people are prone to high blood pressure and various heart diseases.
9. Age is getting older
As you age, the elasticity of your arteries also decreases. When this ability decreases, eating will cause stiffness and eventually lead to high blood pressure. Meanwhile, high blood pressure is a risk factor for heart swelling or cardiomegaly.
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