Rebekah Vickers’s project is contrasting a normal heart versus a heart with cardiomegaly. The painting on the left is the normal heart. The heart on the right is the one with cardiomegaly. Cardiomegaly means enlarged heart. The condition is usually an indicator of another problem. Including a heart valve problem or heart disease. The heart becomes enlarged when it is working extra hard and a result is that it is unusually thick or dilated (stretched). Cardiomegaly cannot be truly based on symptoms because patients are usually asymptomatic. Although, a person can exhibit symptoms such as dyspnea, dyspnea upon awakening, an irregular heartbeat, or edema, or swelling of the body, particularly in the legs or stomach. The only way to diagnose a patient with cardiomegaly is with an x-ray and the radiologists will calculate with a CTR (cardiothoracic ratio). Anything above 0.5 is considered an enlarged heart. An enlarged heart can cause heart failure, blood clots, regurgitation, a leaky heart valve, and cardiac arrest or sudden death. There are ways to lessen the chances of getting cardiomegaly. These include managing blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes, avoiding prescription medications, maintaining a healthy diet, exercising regularly, avoiding alcohol, smoking, and illegal drug use.
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Rebekah Vickers’s project is contrasting a normal heart versus a heart with cardiomegaly. The painting on the left is the normal heart. The heart on the right is the one with cardiomegaly. Cardiomegaly means enlarged heart. The condition is usually an indicator of another problem. Including a heart valve problem or heart disease. The heart becomes enlarged when it is working extra hard and a result is that it is unusually thick or dilated (stretched). Cardiomegaly cannot be truly based on symptoms because patients are usually asymptomatic. Although, a person can exhibit symptoms such as dyspnea, dyspnea upon awakening, an irregular heartbeat, or edema, or swelling of the body, particularly in the legs or stomach. The only way to diagnose a patient with cardiomegaly is with an x-ray and the radiologists will calculate with a CTR (cardiothoracic ratio). Anything above 0.5 is considered an enlarged heart. An enlarged heart can cause heart failure, blood clots, regurgitation, a leaky heart valve, and cardiac arrest or sudden death. There are ways to lessen the chances of getting cardiomegaly. These include managing blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes, avoiding prescription medications, maintaining a healthy diet, exercising regularly, avoiding alcohol, smoking, and illegal drug use.