{"id":5423,"date":"2019-10-17T20:48:38","date_gmt":"2019-10-17T20:48:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.flushinghospital.org\/newsletter\/?p=5423"},"modified":"2024-05-09T03:33:11","modified_gmt":"2024-05-09T03:33:11","slug":"what-does-it-mean-to-have-an-enlarged-heart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/flushinghospital.org\/newsletter\/what-does-it-mean-to-have-an-enlarged-heart\/","title":{"rendered":"What Does it Mean to Have an Enlarged Heart ?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n<p>An enlarged heart, also known by its medical terminology as\ncardiomegaly, enlarges because of damage to the heart muscle. The main cause of\nan enlarged heart is when the walls of the ventricles become thin and stretched\nbeyond their normal size. This is known as dilated cardiomyopathy. It can also\nbe due to a thickening of the ventricles. This is known as hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There are several factors that can lead to an enlarged\nheart.&nbsp; These include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Pregnancy<\/li><li>High Blood Pressure<\/li><li>Fluid around the heart<\/li><li>Excessive iron in the body<\/li><li>Thyroid disorders<\/li><li>Kidney disease<\/li><li>HIV<\/li><li>Alcohol or cocaine use<\/li><li>Abnormal heart valve<\/li><li>Viral infection of the heart<\/li><li>Genetics<\/li><li>Coronary artery disease<\/li><li>Abnormal heart rhythm<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>If a person experiences shortness of breath, an abnormal\nheart rhythm or edema these could be signs of an enlarged heart and be a reason\nfor your doctor to conduct further tests. The diagnosis of an enlarged heart\ncan be made by x-ray, electrocardiogram, echocardiogram, stress test, CT scan\nor an MRI. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Treatment&nbsp; for an\nenlarged heart may include taking medications that are prescribed once the\ncause of the condition has been determined. &nbsp;It is also possible that treatment may require\nheart valve surgery, coronary bypass surgery, and a heart transplant.&nbsp; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Lifestyle changes can also help people who have enlarged\nhearts. It is important to quit smoking, maintain a healthy weight, limit salt\nintake, control diabetes, and get a moderate amount of exercise. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Having an enlarged heart isn\u2019t something that a person would\nbe able to diagnose on their own. Speak to your physician if you have reason to\nbe concerned. If you would like to schedule an appointment with a physician at\nFlushing Hospital Medical Center, please call 718-670-5486.<\/p>\n<p class=\"disclaimer\">All content of this newsletter is intended for general information purposes only and is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.  Please consult a medical professional before adopting any of the suggestions on this page.   You must never disregard professional medical advice or delay seeking medical treatment based upon any content of this newsletter.<strong>  PROMPTLY CONSULT YOUR PHYSICIAN OR CALL 911 IF YOU BELIEVE YOU HAVE A MEDICAL EMERGENCY.<\/strong> <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>An enlarged heart, also known by its medical terminology as cardiomegaly, enlarges because of damage to the heart muscle. The main cause of an enlarged heart is when the walls of the ventricles become thin and stretched beyond their normal &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/flushinghospital.org\/newsletter\/what-does-it-mean-to-have-an-enlarged-heart\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1884,1885,1429],"class_list":["post-5423","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-health","tag-cardiomegaly","tag-enlarged-heart","tag-flushing-hospital-medical-center"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/flushinghospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5423","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/flushinghospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/flushinghospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flushinghospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flushinghospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5423"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/flushinghospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5423\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9065,"href":"https:\/\/flushinghospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5423\/revisions\/9065"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/flushinghospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5423"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flushinghospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5423"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flushinghospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5423"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}