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Housecall, our weekly general-interest e-newsletter, keeps you up to date on a wide variety of health topics with timely, reliable, practical information, recipes, blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts and more. Our biweekly topic-specific e-newsletters also include blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts, and other useful information that will help you manage your health.
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Risk factors
By Mayo Clinic staffYou may have a greater risk of developing an enlarged heart if you have any of the following risk factors:
- High blood pressure. Having a blood pressure measurement higher than 140/90 millimeters of mercury puts you at an increased risk of developing an enlarged heart.
- A family history of enlarged heart or cardiomyopathy. If an immediate family member, such as a parent or sibling, has had an enlarged heart, you may be more susceptible to developing an enlarged heart.
- Blocked arteries in your heart (coronary artery disease). If you have coronary artery disease, fatty plaques in the arteries of your heart make it so blood can't easily flow through the vessels of your heart. Your heart has to pump harder to get an adequate amount of blood to the rest of your body, causing it to enlarge.
- Congenital heart disease. If you're born with a condition that affects the structure of your heart, you may be at risk for developing an enlarged heart, especially if your condition isn't treated.
- Valvular heart disease. The heart has four valves — the aortic, mitral, pulmonary and tricuspid valves — that open and close to direct blood flow through your heart. Valves may be damaged by a variety of conditions leading to narrowing (stenosis), leaking (regurgitation or insufficiency) or improper closing (prolapse). Any of these conditions may cause the heart to enlarge.
References
- Enlarged heart. American Heart Association. http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=4517. Accessed Dec. 14, 2008.
- Samariel AM, et al. Molecular and cellular biology of the normal, hypertrophied, and failing heart. In: Fuster V, et al. Hurst's The Heart, 12th ed. New York, N.Y.: Mc-Graw Hill Professional; 2008. http://www.accessmedicine.com/content.aspx?aID=3049170&searchStr=cardiomegaly. Accessed Dec. 17, 2008.
- Hill JA, et al. Cardiac plasticity. New England Journal of Medicine. 2008;358:1370.
- Cardiomyopathy. National Heart Lung and Blood Institute. http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/cm/cm_all.html. Accessed Jan. 28, 2009.
- Grogan M (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. Feb. 17, 2009.
