im just curiose if i shoul dbe worried about working out too much because the fear of getting an enlarged heart? is there any symptoms you can tell/ any way to prevent it from happening? any information would be awsome! thank you
What is the process of getting an enlarged heart because of working out? is it likley? is it dangerouse?
Posted in Uncategorized.
– February 8, 2010
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Cardiomyopathy is a weakening of the heart muscle or a change in heart muscle structure. It is often associated with inadequate heart pumping or other heart function problems.
Cardiomyopathy can be caused by:
* Alcoholism
* Celiac disease
* End-stage kidney disease
* Heart attacks
* Infections due to viruses
* Long-term, severe high blood pressure
* Nutritional deficiencies (particularly selenium, thiamine, and L-carnitine)
* Systemic lupus erythematosus
There are many different types of cardiomyopathy.
Dilated cardiomyopathy is myocardial dysfunction producing heart failure in which ventricular dilation and systolic dysfunction predominate. Symptoms include dyspnea, fatigue, and peripheral edema. Diagnosis is clinical and by chest x-ray and echocardiography. Treatment is directed at the cause; if progressive and severe, heart transplantation may be needed.
Don’t listen to the guy above me. Cardiomyopathy is a cardiac disease and is NOT what you are describing. Cardiac hypertrophy (which is what you ARE referring to) is the heart’s way of dealing with increased demand; for this reason, many athletes have larger hearts than the ‘normal’ population; they do NOT all have cardiomyopathy!
Your heart is made of muscle cells, or ‘myocytes’. When you work out, these myocytes need to grow to meet the increased demand (the same way your biceps get larger when you lift weights; your heart gets larger so that it can be strong enough to allow you to work out more). This makes your heart larger, but if you are exercising and otherwise healthy, your heart will also be more efficient at pumping. This is why an athlete’s resting heartbeat may be much lower than that of the general population; the athlete is pumping more blood more efficiently with each beat, and therefore their heart needs to beat more often.
If you start working out, your heart will enlarge a bit; this is NOT a disease, it is simply how your body supports itself during your workout, by making blood flow (and therefore oxygen delivery to tissues) more efficient. It will happen, and it’s not dangerous; it’s actually beneficial.. so work out and don’t worry!