Cardiomegaly Symptoms

Cardiomegaly is a condition that causes the heart to enlarge, and affects the heart's ability to properly pump oxygen-bearing blood to the rest of the body. The body will attempt to compensate for the low levels of oxygen it is getting through the blood, and this compensation can result in the symptoms associated with cardiomegaly.

Breathing

• When the heart is unable to properly pump blood through the body, the internal organs are deprived of oxygen. This causes the lungs to feel as though they have to work harder to get oxygen into the body. A person suffering from cardiomegaly will begin to experience shortness of breath, quickening of their breathing, and dizziness. While these symptoms are common with other heart ailments, they should be treated as very serious and the patient should seek medical attention immediately.

Heartbeat

• Since cardiomegaly affects the heart directly, it will cause the patient to experience irregular heartbeats and other signs that the heart is not functioning properly. The patient may experience a rapidly beating heart, heart palpitations, or it may feel as though the heart is occasionally skipping a beat. In some cases the patient may feel as if their heart is struggling to supply blood to the body, and this can cause an anxious sensation in the patient.

Fatigue

• A patient showing the symptoms of cardiomegaly will begin to show signs of fatigue. They will lack the energy to do simple tasks, and they will complain of always being tired. They will also begin to forget to do basic tasks, and they will be unable to participate in any physical activity.

Swelling

• A person displaying symptoms of cardiomegaly will begin to show swelling in their legs and ankles. This swelling could also be accompanied by pain in the legs and ankles that makes simple tasks such as walking slightly painful and uncomfortable. The patient may also begin to suffer from a condition known as ascites, which is an accumulation of fluid in the abdominal cavity. In rare cases this may cause swelling in the upper chest area, and it could also make that part of the body tender and sensitive to the touch.

Pulse

• One of the ways that a doctor can begin to diagnose cardiomegaly is by monitoring the patient's pulse. If the pulse shows wildly erratic changes based on the physical activity of the patient, then this could be a symptom of cardiomegaly. The patient will show an abnormally fast pulse immediately after physical activity, and they will show an abnormally low pulse when they are not engaged in any physical activity at all.