Cardiomegaly

1. CARDIO MEGA LY By: Ben Mitchell

2. What is CARDIOMEGALY? Cardiomegaly = Enlarged Heart Cardiothoracic ratio greater than .5 -If heart is > 50% of the ribcage’s inner diameter

3. What causes CARDIOMEGALY? Direct effect of thickening of the heart muscles due to greater workload Viral illness or past heart attacks can lead to greater workloads Heart inflammation, drug abuse, hypertension all can increase chances of developing the condition

4. Signs and Symptoms Breathlessness Dizziness Rapid fluctuation of pulse rate Swelling in lower body Tenderness in upper right quadrant Fluid in abdominal cavity (Ascites)

5. Treatments Diuretics -increase output of serous fluids ACE inhibitors -commonly used to treat hypertension Beta blockers Nitrates Treats the causes

6. Potential Surgical Treatment HeartNet -Not yet FDA approved http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNw3SnfLfYQ&playnext=1&list=PL652A42B27B8C9F87

7. Should I exercise with an enlarged heart? Enlarged heart increases chance of cardiac arrest So many underlying causes make this question impossible to answer for this whole population.

8. How can we keep our athletes safe and prevent early sudden deaths? EKG screening -50$, short duration Italy tests all athletes with this method -sudden death nearly nonexistent U.S. has 37% fewer doctors per capita than Italy

9. Sources http://www.downloadheart.us/what-is-cardiomegaly.html http://www.brighthub.com/health/heart-disease/articles/55078.aspx http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/writers/david_epstein/01/18/adams/index.html