Enlargement of the Heart (Cardiomegaly): Symptoms, Complaints, Signs

Cardiomegaly, if mild, may be asymptomatic.The following symptoms and complaints may indicate cardiomegaly (heart enlargement):

  • Signs of heart failure (cardiac insufficiency):
    • Dyspnea (shortness of breath); esp. intermittent nocturnal shortness of breath.
    • Exertional dyspnea – shortness of breath under stress.
    • Nocturia – urination at night
    • Edema (water retention) occurring especially praetibially (located on the lower legs/front of the shins)
    • Fatigue
    • Fatigue
    • Nausea (nausea)
    • Abdominal pain (abdominal pain)
    • Cachexia (emaciation; pathological weight loss).
    • Muscular atrophy
    • Cerebral functional impairment, unspecified.
  • Cardiac arrhythmias, unspecified

Global heart failure (cardiac global insufficiency) shows symptoms of left and right heart failure (left and right heart failure)!The following symptoms and complaints may indicate left heart failure:

  • Dyspnea, tachypnea (increased or excessive respiratory rate).
  • Cough*
  • Rales* (asthma cardiale; shortness of breath resulting from congestion in the small circulation in left heart failure).
  • Power kink

* Wg. congestive lung (→ pulmonary edema).

The following symptoms and complaints may indicate right heart failure:

  • Congested and dilated neck veins (jugular venous congestion).
  • Hepatomegaly (liver enlargement) associated with congestion of the liver (portal hypertension; synonyms: portal hypertension; portal hypertension)
  • Splenomegaly (splenomegaly), secondary to portal hypertension.
  • Stasis gastritis (with anorexia (loss of appetite)).
  • Congestive kidneys (with proteinuria/increased excretion of protein with urine).
  • Edema in dependent body parts (pretibial/pretibial tibia, ankle; presacral/pretuberous sacrum in supine).
  • Nocturia (nocturnal urination).
  • Central cyanosis (decreased oxygen saturation of the blood in the lungs → bluish discoloration of the mucous membranes of the mouth, tongue – here especially the veins under the tongue – lips and in other areas of the body).
  • Ascites (abdominal dropsy)
  • Pleural effusion
  • Abdominal pain (abdominal pain)
  • Increased sympathetic tone (tachycardia (heartbeat too fast: > 100 beats per minute), cold extremities).
  • Hypertrophy (increase in size) of the heart.

For the topic of heart failure, see under the topic of the same name.For the topic of right heart failure, see under cor pulmonale.