Cardiomegaly

hello to all,

    In the last week of may this year I had severe cough and fever. So for the cough i got a chest X-Ray done. Everything was normal except one thing that i had CARDIOMEGALY. When i showed the reports to the doctor (not a Cardiologist) who takes care of all the Thals here where i take my regular blood transfusions he said Cardiomegaly is an enlarged heart and it is common in few thals. The doctors is a child specialist. And from past few months I am having fast heart beats and a little tiredness. Does any of the members have the same or the members not having above and having information for the same please share......

    Since then my haemoglobin has also dropped. Before the pre transfusion Hb used to be between 9-9.5 but now it floats around 8-9. Is cardiomegaly the cause of lowering of Hb?

Thanx all....

Cardiomegaly is quite common in thals and its incidence increases with lower hemoglobin levels. It is also more common with the more transfusions given.  It is very likely that your lower Hb levels has affected the cardiomegaly. It is not likely that the cardiomegaly has caused the lower Hb level. The lower Hb causes your heart to work harder which would also explain the faster heart beat and tiredness.

Cardiomegaly in thals does not necessarily affect overall heart function, although it can be a sign of a more serious problem. As always, maintaining an adequate Hb level and low ferritin levels are keys to maintaining good heart function. There may still be some cardiomegaly as patients age because of the frequent transfusions, and much research is being done in this area as the problems of older thals become more apparent as the thal population ages, which in itself is a great development. There is also  evidence that defriprone (L1, Kelfer, Ferriprox) chelation therapy over the long term, is associated with greater improvement in cardiac function than desferal therapy.

thanx Andy for the information......
     
     But what i am trying to say is that till february 2006 i had my Hb level (pre-hb) maintained at 9 - 9.5 but since then my Hb has dropped and now its between 8 - 8.5 (pre hb). whats the reason for this? one more thing i wanted to bring to your notice that i had been on 'TESTOSTERONE' injection named 'SUSTANON 250'. I was on it for 7 months i.e till Jan 2006. so do u think the low Hb would be the cause of not taking Sustanon?

Anyways I would be seeing a good haematologist in few days n with his recommandation i would also see a good cardiologist.

Thank you once again.