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Cardiomegaly

An enlarged heart, or cardiomegaly, is the term used to describe a heart that has a thickened wall or dilated chambers. Having a heart that is enlarged is not a disease but a symptom of an underlying medical condition. This is a cardiomegaly at autopsy in a 27 year old who died from complications of morbid obesity. He weighted 423 pounds at his death. The normal male heart should fit in your hand, while this heart is 2-3x the normal size. There's a direct association of adiposity with left ventricular dysfunction, independent of hypertension, coronary artery disease and other heart disease. Obesity produces an increase in total blood volume and cardiac output because of the high metabolic activity of excessive fat. Eventually, the heart grows larger to compensate for the larger body. Credits: @mrs_angemi and @tabbiicatt