enlarge heart

[fafa21]

My friend has an enlarge heart(left) and he kept on complaining that he have a chest pain and difficulty in breathing.He is working in the ship as a cadet.The company don't know about his condition. Is his heart is at risk since his work there is too hard? Will he be send home because of his condition?

[erijon]

The problem with an enlarged heart is that they do not pump efficiently. Any hard physical labor can throw his heart into a dangerous rhythm as it tries to compensate for it's poor ability to pump blood which can lead to VT which is potentially lethal. It is very important to understand that an enlarged heart is NOT a disease, it is a symptom of an underlying issue. It could be something as minor as high blood pressure or something much more dangerous. It is very important to identify the underlying cause of the problem. If his heart is enlarged due to dilation it can remodel itself once the underlying cause has been resolved and return to it's normal size. If it is enlarged due to hypertrophy, it is even more important that it is controlled as this is a leading cause of sudden cardiac death in otherwise healthy young people.

Not trying to scare anyone, just laying out the facts. He needs to get clearance from his doctor to work just to be safe. This can be a very serious issue and everyone needs to be aware of his condition and what his limits are for physical exertion.

Please have him discuss this further with his cardiologist.

Jon

[Mom2four85]

How did your friend find out he had an enlarged heart? Mine was found during an Xray I had done for heart issues; it's on the reports listed as Cardiomegaly and would show up in a medical search if someone checked his medical files if they reported it - I know mine did.

He needs to have a full cardiac workup by a cardiologist to check to see what's going on - it may be something simple causing it or it could be caused by heart disease or something that potentially harm him; I don't think you would want something to happen to your friend so encourage him to seek a good cardio dr asap =)

Also, he should be honest with his employer - if they find out on their own he may get in trouble for withholding information like this - maybe in their company policy handbook or employee manual?

[kcd86]

"Enlarged Heart"> is defined as a myocardial disorder in which the heart muscle is structurally and functionally abnormal> It can be related to many different reasons,coronary artery disease, hypertension, valvular disease and congenital heart disease . It is very important that your friend get evaluated and treated as soon as possible he may need medication and certain type of tests to rule out wether he is susceptiple to sudden cardiac death. He will need an EKG,echocardiogram and tests to determine the cause.