Why does a child have an enlarged heart?

When the baby is born, it can be said that he is cared for by the whole family. Once any situation occurs, all family members will feel very worried about it. Some children are born with a bigger heart than others, so various problems always arise. How could this happen at such a young age? Here we will explain to you why children have enlarged hearts.

1. Children's heart enlargement shown under X-ray can be divided into two categories: physiological and pathological. Physiological heart enlargement occurs because the child's heart is still in the process of development. The aorta and pulmonary artery of the heart are almost at the same level. In addition, the overlap with the enlarged thymus causes the base of the heart shadow to enlarge. In addition, when a child is born, his chest circumference is 1 to 2 centimeters smaller than his head circumference. The chest circumference only develops to the same level as the head circumference when he is one or two years old, and then the chest circumference gradually becomes larger than the head circumference. The heart-to-chest ratio of children in this age group is about 55%, so their hearts appear larger under X-rays. This is a normal physiological phenomenon. Pathological heart enlargement is common in myocarditis, pericardial effusion, congenital heart disease and hypertension. If your child has had a fever, you should be alert to the possibility of myocarditis. You can go to the hospital for electrocardiogram, echocardiogram and myocardial enzyme test to rule out the possibility of myocarditis.

2. It should be a problem of congenital development! Once the heart has enlarged, it is impossible to recover, and the main purpose of treatment is to control its enlargement! It is recommended that you seek treatment early. It is important to determine whether the baby has heart failure. For a 2-month-old baby, if the condition is not serious, there may be a chance for recovery in the future because his heart still needs to develop! But the key now is to clearly determine the function of the heart! Don't delay!

3. "Shortness of breath" is one of the symptoms of cardiac hypertrophy. The "shortness" of shortness of breath is caused by tracheal stenosis, which can be fatal in acute attacks. However, the "shortness" of cardiac hypertrophy is caused by chronic strain of the heart and does not pose an immediate life-threatening risk. Therefore, it is often ignored, but it also poses a threat to life. Cardiac hypertrophy can be divided into primary and secondary.