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From: BBB
Date: 23 Sep 2004
Time: 14:04:29
Remote Name: 80.41.99.157
One good reason - exercise. The hearts of athletes are often enlarged in a completely healthy way because of the extra demands of exercise.
Lots of bad ones - hereditary and non hereditary cardiomyopathies; lung disease; damage to the muscle of the heart.
Generally one side of the heart or the other enlarges in an attempt to cope with demand or strain. This is a self defeating strategy though, because the enlarged heart usually works less efficiently and has to enlarge further and work even harder until eventually you end up with heart failure or the propsensity for fatal arrythmias.
Some conditions that cause the heart to become enlarged can be stopped or reversed and heart function can improve. People with asthma often show EKG evidence of considerable right heart strain when they are having an bad attack with very great difficulty breathing. As soon as the attack is over and their breathing returns to normal, so too the evidence of right heart strain disappears.
Interested to know why you're asking. Have you or someone you know had a diagnosis of an enlarged heart?