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Age, Race, Gender, Life style? There are so many things that can cause an enlarged heart, its crazy. Without more details I can't tell you anything other than unless a doctor saw the image on a form of image scan, you would never know.
More details, and I will answer any specific question I can. What would you like to know?
More details, and I will answer any specific question I can. What would you like to know?
What kind of enlargement is it?
There are different types of cardiac hypertrophy (heart enlargement). Some are good and some are bad. Adaptive hypertrophy is normal and good, and it is caused by different forms of exercise, such as anaerobic training like weight lifting and power lifting, and also aerobic training like cycling or jogging. In the case of concentric enlargement, your heart can get more "muscular" in which it the muslce walls thicken outwards, this is known as concentric cardiac hypertrophy and is caused by anaerobic training like weight lifting. Then there is eccentric hypertrophy, caused by aerobic training like running marathons, etc. Your left ventricle increases in volume (ventricular dilation) and you are able to pump a greater amount of blood with each beat. So that in a nutshell is physiological hypertrophy, the normal kind of enlargement.
Pathological hypertrophy is caused by other problems like long-term chronic hypertension that has gone untreated, severe obesity, heart attacks and the like. Over many, many years, with high blood pressure and being very overweight, the inside of your ventrical gets thicker, and the volume inside therefore decreases, decreasing stroke volume and causing your heart rate to become higher and your heart then has to work harder to pump the same amount of blood, which over many years causes the ventricular walls to stiffen.
I hope that clarifies some of it. ;-)
There are different types of cardiac hypertrophy (heart enlargement). Some are good and some are bad. Adaptive hypertrophy is normal and good, and it is caused by different forms of exercise, such as anaerobic training like weight lifting and power lifting, and also aerobic training like cycling or jogging. In the case of concentric enlargement, your heart can get more "muscular" in which it the muslce walls thicken outwards, this is known as concentric cardiac hypertrophy and is caused by anaerobic training like weight lifting. Then there is eccentric hypertrophy, caused by aerobic training like running marathons, etc. Your left ventricle increases in volume (ventricular dilation) and you are able to pump a greater amount of blood with each beat. So that in a nutshell is physiological hypertrophy, the normal kind of enlargement.
Pathological hypertrophy is caused by other problems like long-term chronic hypertension that has gone untreated, severe obesity, heart attacks and the like. Over many, many years, with high blood pressure and being very overweight, the inside of your ventrical gets thicker, and the volume inside therefore decreases, decreasing stroke volume and causing your heart rate to become higher and your heart then has to work harder to pump the same amount of blood, which over many years causes the ventricular walls to stiffen.
I hope that clarifies some of it. ;-)
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