Bob,
Enlarged heart (Cardiomegaly)
What are the signs and symptoms as well as the risk factors for cardiomegaly?
No name / State given
A medical term ending in "-megaly" indicates abnormal enlargement of the organ
or structure referred to in the first part of the word. Hence, cardiomegaly
means an enlarged heart. Megas is Greek for big or great.
Enlargement of the heart may be due to one of a long list of conditions and
diseases. It may cause no symptoms and only be detected at the time of a chest
X-ray. While the chest X-ray may suggest cardiomegaly, an ultrasound examination
of the heart (echocardiogram) provides a much more precise measurement of heart
size as well as information about the cause.
If the problem that caused the enlargement leads to heart failure, symptoms such
as weakness, reduced exercise tolerance, shortness of breath and swelling of the
feet and legs may occur. Other causes of an enlarged heart may lead to
disturbances of heart rate and rhythm, causing palpitations and
light-headedness.
A partial list of potential causes of cardiomegaly includes:
high blood pressure
defective or damaged heart valves
heart damage from coronary heart disease (myocardial infarction)
inflammation of the heart muscle (cardiomyopathy)
severe anemia
hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism
hemochromatosis
amyloidosis
Fluid around the heart (pericardial effusion) also may cause the appearance of a
large heart on an X-ray.
Cardiomegaly risk factors are those of the underlying conditions that lead to
the enlarged heart.
****************************************
I would assume your friend is getting further tests and treatment.
Chuck
T'ai Chi isn't a martial art--it's a MARTIAN art.
Martians move slowly in earth gravity!
On Sun, 27 May 2001 17:26:54 -0500, "Robert L. Berger" <[email protected]>
wrote:
>Hi Ya'all,
>
>A freind of mine was just diagnosed with an enlarged heart.
>1.) What does that imple?
>2.) How does one treat it?
>3.) any other comments welcome.
>
>"Ole Bob"
--
The silver-list is a moderated forum for discussion of colloidal silver.
To join or quit silver-list or silver-digest send an e-mail message to:
[email protected] -or- [email protected]
with the word subscribe or unsubscribe in the SUBJECT line.
To post, address your message to: [email protected]
Silver-list archive: http://escribe.com/health/thesilverlist/index.html
List maintainer: Mike Devour <[email protected]>
