What is cardiomegaly?

• A. A narrowing of heart chambers
• B. Enlargement of the heart, often due to high blood pressure or coronary heart disease
• C. Inflammation of the heart muscle
• D. Enlargement of the arteries

Answer: (B)

Cardiomegaly means the heart is larger than normal. This enlargement often develops because the heart has to work harder over time, with chronic high blood pressure or coronary artery disease as common culprits that damage or stress the heart muscle. On imaging, the heart’s silhouette looks bigger, and echocardiography can show which chambers are enlarged and how the walls have changed. It’s a finding, not a disease by itself, and it points to underlying issues that need to be addressed to prevent heart failure. The other descriptions refer to different problems: narrowing of the heart chambers is not cardiomegaly, inflammation of the heart muscle is myocarditis, and enlargement of the arteries is an arterial issue rather than enlargement of the heart.