Enlargement of the HEART, usually indicated by a cardiothoracic ratio above 0.50. Heart enlargement may involve the right, the left, or both HEART VENTRICLES or HEART ATRIA. Cardiomegaly is a nonspecific symptom seen in patients with chronic systolic heart failure (HEART FAILURE) or several forms of CARDIOMYOPATHIES. | Enlargement of the HEART due to chamber HYPERTROPHY, an increase in wall thickness without an increase in the number of cells (MYOCYTES, CARDIAC). It is the result of increase in myocyte size, mitochondrial and myofibrillar mass, as well as changes in extracellular matrix. [MeSH]
