The development of cardiomegaly in homozygous sickle cell disease

Cardiomegaly is a feature of the physiological adaptation to chronic anaemia and is characteristic of many patients with sickle cell disease. This study documents that significant cardiomegaly develops in children with homozygous sickle cell(SS) disease before the age of one year. No correlation was found between the degree of cardiomegaly and the severity of aneamia. Abnormal cardiac signs are common in very young children with SS disease and do not necessarily imply cardiac dysfunction. (AU)