Liz Taylor was hospitalized on August 4 at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, a day after she began suffering shortness of breath, reported the National Enquirer.
After giving Liz a battery of tests, doctors uncovered the heart problem. They wanted to keep her in the hospital longer, but feisty Liz would have none of it and left after five days, added NE.
She told doctors she realized the condition was serious and promised to follow their instructions, divulged an insider. "She told them, 'Just let me out!' "
Dr. Richard Stein, a spokesman for the American Heart Association and chief of cardiology at the Brooklyn Hospital Center said: "An enlarged heart can be a sign of serious underlying heart disease.
"It means there is an underlying disease process which could be dangerous and lead to a heart attack."
Dr. Leslie Dornfeld, clinical professor of medicine at UCLA, declared:
"An enlarged heart is usually a sign the heart is ailing.
"Such a condition can be caused by years of drinking, drugs, yo-yo dieting, overeating, high cholesterol, untreated high blood pressure or viral infections."
In the past, the still-stunning actress has been treated for many medical problems -- including high blood pressure, an irregular heartbeat, drug dependency and pneumonia.
And those problems can mean even more trouble for Liz.
Top cardiologist Dr. Mary Ann Malloy told The Enquirer: "The combination of symptoms . . . recurring bouts with pneumonia and an enlarged heart . . . spells a lot of health problems, especially in older women.
"If there's also a history of smoking, alcohol or drug abuse, then the overall health problem could be very serious indeed," declared Dr. Malloy, a clinical associate professor of medicine at Loyola University Stritch School of Medicine.
An enlarged heart occurs when something is wrong that prevents the heart from working efficiently, so it can't put out enough blood for each beat. If you put that together with lung disease, or other problems, you could be looking at a life-threatening condition."
Liz' latest medical drama began on August 3. "She called her physician," revealed the insider. "She was feverish, achy and plagued with upper respiratory congestion.
"Her doctor made a house call to her home in Bel-Air and immediately prescribed heavy-duty oral antibiotics. But overnight the symptoms worsened. She was having trouble breathing.
"The next day doctors confirmed she was suffering from pneumonia.
"She was admitted to the VIP ward and immediately hooked up to antibiotics intravenously. The fluid in her lungs began to clear up. Soon she was back to herself again and itching to get home.
"But then came even more bad news -- an enlarged heart!
"Doctors told her they can treat the condition and work to reverse its effects.
"Of course, Liz needs to go along with the treatment, which will involve losing weight and taking medication to control blood pressure and keep the respiratory infection at bay.
"Doctors would like her to rest for a long while. But as usual, complete rest is one thing Liz has trouble accepting.
"In fact, the doctors wanted to keep her in Cedars longer than five days -- but on August 9 the busy performer said she felt strong enough and wanted to 'get the hell out' of there."
Divulged a close source: "Over the past five years, Liz has really tried to take care of herself and was hopeful that she hadn't damaged her body too badly when she was younger."
Liz herself quipped to a pal: "It's like Cary Grant once said, 'If I'd known I was going to live this long, I would have taken better care of myself!' "-Albawaba.com.
© 2000 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
