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← Return to Mild cardiomegaly?
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Heart & Blood Health | Last Active: Oct 31 11:05pm | Replies (5)
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Several conditions can lead to enlargement of the cardiac muscles. The most common is an arrhythmia such as atrial fibrillation. You don't mention this, or it hasn't turned up on an ECG or a Holter or Loop recorder.
The enlargement is usually a compensatory mechanism. Just as one can lift weights and watch one's muscles grow, the heart will grow muscle tissue, myocardial tissue, to help it to do what it is supposed to do, but is being prevented....somehow. This is as yet unknown.
Replies to "Several conditions can lead to enlargement of the cardiac muscles. The most common is an arrhythmia..."
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Thanks for your reply. It makes sense.
FWIW, I haven't noticed a significant arrhythmia. I get a flutter now and then (a few a week? maybe a bit more?), but nothing significant. I asked my cardiologist about the relative new fluttering six months ago and he said they don't really worry about it until it reaches some incredibly high percentage of beats. I don't remember the number, only that mine was nowhere near that. If it can happen without symptoms, it could be going on I guess. My Apple Watch has always indicated there's no problem, but that may not be worth much.
I have a high CAC score, but no blockages greater than 50%. I guess my fear is that my heart is being slowly starved of oxygen. I run/walk or bike three or four times a week for between 30 min and an hour each session. I try to get in a couple of weight lifting sessions too, but those are sacrificed for other things pretty quickly. I called my cardiologist and asked whether I should modify this routine at all. I expect I'll hear back in the next few days. He's already scheduled the echo related to an aortic anuerysm, so I guess that will go a long way toward a diagnosis.
Oof. The waiting is the worst.