Member Comments are provided by individuals and reflect their personal opinions only. Under NO circumstances should you act on any advice or opinion posted in this forum. ALWAYS check with your personal physician before taking any action regarding your health! MedHelp International and our partners, sponsors and affiliates have no obligation to monitor any comments posted on this site, or the content and/or accuracy of such exchanges. MedHelp International does not endorse the views of any user.
Heart Disease (Expert Forum)
Question about Enlarged Heart
This forum is for questions and support regarding heart issues such as: Angina, Angioplasty, Arrhythmia, Bypass Surgery, Cardiomyopathy, Coronary Artery Disease, Defibrillator, Heart Attack, Heart Disease, High Blood Pressure, Mitral Valve Prolapse, Pacemaker, PAD, Stenosis, Stress Tests.
Question about Enlarged Heart
by kcossich, May 03, 2001 12:00AM
I have posted here before...I have been having a few PVCs and my doctor did a chest xray and determined that I have a borderline enlarged heart (I had never had a chest xray before) She has sent the xrays to our local hospital to let them make the ultimate decision about whether it is enlarged or not. If it is considered enlarged, she wants me to go to a cardiologist. Is a borderline enlarged heart dangerous? My mother has an enlarged heart, so can it be hereditary? What treatment would they administer to me if I do have a borderline enlarged heart? Also, I had a stress and Thallium stress test done in Feb., and both came back normal (I was eventually diagnosed with costochodritis) Would the cardiologists not have been able to tell that I had an enlarged heart when I did the Thallium stress test? Thank you for this wonderful forum.
kcossich
kcossich
Doctor's Answer
by CCF-M.D.-CRC, May 03, 2001 12:00AM
Dear kcossich,
"Enlarged heart" is a very general term and could mean a number of different things. The best test to determine heart size is not x-ray but echocardiogram. I would guess this would be the first test a cardiologist would order. There are some inherited conditions of 'large heart' such as hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and this would be detected on echo. A Thalium test does not usually measure heart size.
"Enlarged heart" is a very general term and could mean a number of different things. The best test to determine heart size is not x-ray but echocardiogram. I would guess this would be the first test a cardiologist would order. There are some inherited conditions of 'large heart' such as hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and this would be detected on echo. A Thalium test does not usually measure heart size.
