Cardiomegaly

Cardiomegaly (sometimes megacardia or megalocardia) is a medical condition in which the heart becomes enlarged. It is more commonly referred to simply as "having an enlarged heart". It is usually the result of underlying conditions that make the heart work harder, such as obesity, heart valve disease, high blood pressure (hypertension), and coronary artery disease. Cardiomyopathy is also associated with cardiomegaly. Cardiomegaly can be serious and can result in congestive heart failure. Recent studies suggest that cardiomegaly is associated with a higher risk of sudden cardiac death. Cardiomegaly may diminish over time, but many people with an enlarged heart (dilated cardiomyopathy) need lifelong medication. Having a family history of cardiomegaly may indicate an increased risk for this condition. Lifestyle factors that can help prevent cardiomegaly include eating a healthy diet, controlling blood pressure, exercise, medications, and not abusing alcohol and cocaine. For many people, cardiomegaly is asymptomatic. For others, if the enlarged heart begins to affect the body's ability to pump blood, then symptoms associated with congestive heart failure may arise, including: Heart palpitations – the irregular beating of the heart, usually associated with a valve Severe shortness of breath (especially when physically active) Chest pain Coughing, when lying down Fatigue Leg swelling Increased abdominal girth Weight gain Edema – swelling Fainting The causes of cardiomegaly are not well understood and many cases have no known cause. Lifestyle-related risk factors include tobacco use and high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and diabetes. Non-lifestyle risk factors include a family history of cardiomegaly, coronary artery disease (CAD), congenital heart failure, atherosclerotic disease, valvular heart disease, exposure to cardiac toxins, sleep-disordered breathing (such as sleep apnea), sustained cardiac arrhythmias, abnormal electrocardiograms, and cardiomegaly on chest X-ray.

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Left ventricular hypertrophy

Left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) is thickening of the heart muscle of the left ventricle of the heart, that is, left-sided ventricular hypertrophy and resulting increased left ventricular mass. While ventricular hypertrophy occurs naturally as a reaction to aerobic exercise and strength training, it is most frequently referred to as a pathological reaction to cardiovascular disease, or high blood pressure. It is one aspect of ventricular remodeling. While LVH itself is not a disease, it is usually a marker for disease involving the heart.

Ventricular hypertrophy

Ventricular hypertrophy (VH) is thickening of the walls of a ventricle (lower chamber) of the heart. Although left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) is more common, right ventricular hypertrophy (RVH), as well as concurrent hypertrophy of both ventricles can also occur. Ventricular hypertrophy can result from a variety of conditions, both adaptive and maladaptive. For example, it occurs in what is regarded as a physiologic, adaptive process in pregnancy in response to increased blood volume; but can also occur as a consequence of ventricular remodeling following a heart attack.

Athletic heart syndrome

Athletic heart syndrome (AHS) is a non-pathological condition commonly seen in sports medicine in which the human heart is enlarged, and the resting heart rate is lower than normal. The athlete's heart is associated with physiological cardiac remodeling as a consequence of repetitive cardiac loading. Athlete's heart is common in athletes who routinely exercise more than an hour a day, and occurs primarily in endurance athletes, though it can occasionally arise in heavy weight trainers.

KID-PPG: Knowledge Informed Deep Learning for Extracting Heart Rate from a Smartwatch

David Atienza Alonso, José Angel Miranda Calero, Jonathan Dan, Christodoulos Kechris

Accurate extraction of heart rate from photoplethysmography (PPG) signals remains challenging due to motion artifacts and signal degradation. Although deep learning methods trained as a data-driven inference problem offer promising solutions, they often un ...

2024

Design and computational optimization of compliance-matching aortic grafts

Nikolaos Stergiopulos, Georgios Rovas, Vasiliki Bikia

Introduction: Synthetic vascular grafts have been widely used in clinical practice for aortic replacement surgery. Despite their high rates of surgical success, they remain significantly less compliant than the native aorta, resulting in a phenomenon calle ...

FRONTIERS MEDIA SA2023

Compliance-matching vascular grafts with personalization potential

Georgios Rovas

Aortic diseases are characterized by dire prognosis and inadequate diagnosis, owing to their insidious yet lethal nature. Aortopathies, namely aortic aneurysms and dissections, along with certain congenital diseases, might necessitate surgical replacement ...

EPFL2023

Cardiac Mechanics: Arterial Flow Modeling ME-481: Biomechanics of the cardiovascular system

Explores cardiac oxygen consumption, left ventricle mechanics, arterial flow modeling, and clinical applications.

Cardiovascular Regulation: Sympathetic and Parasympathetic Systems BIO-377: Physiology by systems

Explores the regulation of the cardiovascular system, focusing on sympathetic and parasympathetic influences, cardiac cycle, and vascular resistance.