Big Heart Disease: Discover symptoms, causes and treatment

Dilated cardiomyopathy, known as the Big Heart disease is a disease of the heart muscle, which prevents the pumping of blood suitable for the body.

This condition leads to ventricular dilatation and left the consequences such as arrhythmias, blood clots and even sudden death. This disease can affect people of all ages, with or without apparent symptoms.
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If the cause of great heart for infection, patients may present sudden fever. Photo: Shutterstock
Causes Big Heart

It is the most common form of cardiomyopathy. According to cardiologists, is one of the leading indications for heart transplantation . Worldwide, around 40% of cases are hereditary.
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But there is only one possible cause for the large heart (dilated cardiomyopathy). It may be established between the main origins of the condition, the genetic load , infections (viruses and parasites can affect the myocardium, as is the case of Chagas' disease ),

 autoimmune diseases, excessive consumption of alcohol, drugs (chemotherapy, corticosteroids) and exposure to toxins such as lead, mercury and cobalt.

In addition to these conditions, some hormonal disorders such as morbid obesity, diabetes mellitus and disorders of the thyroid gland can cause dilated cardiomyopathy. http://www.articlepac.com/article.php?id=36

 In Latin America, including Brazil, Chagas disease, which affects the cardiovascular system, is among the main causes for the so-called big heart.
Symptoms

Dyspnea (difficulty breathing during exercise) and fatigue (tiredness) are among the first symptoms of dilated cardiomyopathy . Where the result of a large heart infection, initial signals may include sudden fever.

Regardless of the source of the problem, the heart rate increases, your blood pressure is between normal and low water retention and usually occur in the lower limbs.

During the medical examination, inadequate valve locks can produce heart murmurs, which can be auscultated by stethoscope. Cardiac arrhythmias can be detected with myocardial damage.

To get a diagnosis, the doctor examines the symptoms reported by the patient, perform a physical examination and asks various examinations.

The electrocardiogram may show cardiac abnormalities, chest X-ray shows increased heart area and echocardiography generates an image that can become the main element of verification of dilated cardiomyopathy. Finally, MRI , cardiac catheterization are also important for obtaining broader picture of the disease instruments.

Treatment
The large heart is the condition for which more is recommended cardiac transplantation. That is, the prognosis is not good in most cases. And worsens as the cardiac walls become more dilated. According to specialists, 50% of deaths are sudden, resulting from cardiac arrhythmias.

In general, regardless of the cause found, patients suffering from dilated cardiomyopathy need to use multiple drugs (diuretics, vasodilators, among others) to prolong life expectancy .

For patients with cardiac arrhythmia , anticoagulants are recommended. Have patients with severe symptoms , depending on the case, may require pacemaker and automatic implantable defibrillator (which identifies the arrhythmia, and automatically apply electrical discharges).

Even so, it is possible that the specific cause of great heart can not be treated. Often this means, with varying deadlines, that heart failure will lead to the patient's death if he did not perform the surgery for heart transplantation.

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