Heart muscle thickening and hypertension
Heart muscle thickening is defined as an increase in heart muscle mass or an increase in its thickness due to the accumulation of other tissues and substances within the heart muscle. Anadolu Health Center Cardiology Specialists, who say that the biggest cause of this disease leading to heart failure is hypertension, explain the curious things about heart muscle thickening.
What is heart muscle thickening?
Although heart muscle thickening is not well known among the public, it is a very serious and important problem. Heart muscles contract due to increased pressure in the arteries. For this reason, this disease is most common in hypertension patients. Muscle cells working against high pressure grow and thicken. However, heart valve diseases can also cause thickening of the heart muscle. While thickening causes deterioration in the structure of heart muscle cells, problems also occur in blood circulation. Thus, a structural disease in the heart begins.
Symptoms of heart muscle thickening
Because the muscle mass and intracardiac pressure are higher than other chambers, the left ventricle of the heart generally thickens. As a symptom, increased pressure in the bloodstream causes edema in the lungs. This causes shortness of breath. This is called diastolic heart failure. Additionally, rhythm disturbances and palpitations may occur due to deterioration of the structure of the heart muscle. Some of these rhythm disorders are of vital importance. In fact, in some arrhythmias, a clot forms within the heart and when it throbs, a stroke may occur. As the disease progresses, heart muscle cells begin to die, in which case the thickness decreases, but there is a contraction disorder in the heart muscle; The heart cannot pump enough blood. Fatigue quickly, shortness of breath, and swelling in the feet begin. This condition is called congestive heart failure. In the early stages of heart muscle thickening, there may be no symptoms. Thickening of the heart muscle can lead to heart rhythm disturbances, leading to problems such as sudden death, stroke, and heart failure. Hypertension patients and people with heart valve disorders are in the risk group. When hypertension is not treated properly, that is, if blood pressure remains high, thickening of the heart muscle occurs.
It is possible to prevent heart muscle thickening
Protection from hypertension generally means protection from thickening of the heart muscle. Initiatives that reduce the possibility of hypertension, such as regular health check-ups, early recognition of hypertension and early initiation of treatment, having an ideal body weight, reducing salt consumption, and staying away from alcohol and cigarettes, are also of great importance in preventing hypertension.
