May 25, 2012
Topics A-Z Heart Disease Heart Disease or Enlarged Heart
Heart Disease or Enlarged Heart |
|
Dear Ask The Doctor: I have smoked cigarettes andfor past 15 years and drank almost everyday for the psat 5 years.... i have heart disease in my family and was wondering if your heart is enlarging due to tobacco and alcohol.. if you stop will your heart go back to normal??? also what would i need to do to find out how my heart is doing? do i need to see a specialist .... go to ER,etc? Dear Shelby: Cardiomyopathy (enlarged heart) may develop secondary to a known cause (inherited, infection, ischaemic heart disease, toxin (alcohol), valve lesion) or it may occur where there is no known cause. Smoking is associated with coronary artery disease not with an enlarged heart (Cardiomyopathy). Excess alcohol may cause a dilated cardiomyopathy and multiple case reports have clearly documented marked improvement and, in some patients, normalization of cardiac function with abstinence from alcohol. I advise attending your family doctor for a physical examination and information on alcohol abstinence. He may perform an ECG and refer you for an echocardiogram to assess heart function and size. |
|
| Last Updated ( Monday, 22 March 2010 ) |
|
|
|
|
