Health Dictionary
Reliable, easy-to-read patient information on common medical conditions — written in plain language, free of jargon, and grounded in current evidence. Browse the most frequent diagnoses, understand what they mean for everyday life, and learn which steps and questions help you have a focused conversation with your doctor.
Cardiomegaly differential diagnosis
Introduction
Synonyms and keywords: pseudo-cardiomegaly; pseudocardiomegaly
Overview
Overview
Cardiomegaly must be distinguished from pseudo-cardiomegaly, a scenario in which the apparent size of the heart is artificially increased. Disorders and conditions which falsely increase the apparent size of the heart include straight back syndrome, a disorder in which the heart is “pancaked” or compressed; and obtaining the chest x-ray during expiration at which time the diameter of the lungs is decreased and the relative diameter of the heart and aorta is increased.
Diseases From Which Cardiomegaly Must Be Distinguished
Diseases From Which Cardiomegaly Must Be Distinguished
- Epicardial fat pad
- Expiration: If the chest x-ray is obtained during expiration, the lung volume will be decreased and the cardiac size and aortic size will be relatively increased. The traditional metrics used to diagnose cardiomegaly do not apply in this case.
- Kyphoscoliosis
- Mediastinal mass
- Pectus excavatum
- Pulmonary blastoma[1]
- Straight back syndrome with pancake heart: This can cause a leftward shift of the heart on the chest x-ray. The heart can be “pancaked” or compressed.
- Thymus tumor
Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]