Hi...I have bronchitis and possibly influenza A. I had a chest xray on Tuesday and again on Friday. Friday s xray stated it was compared to the Tuesday s; it showed an enlarged heart. Can this just be a temporary situation due to my bronchitis or do I need to be worried?
Hi, Welcome to Chat Doctor, Thanks for writing to us, I am Chat Doctor. There is no way other than a massive heart attack which dilates the heart so much that it gets enlarged within 3--4 days. Usually it is problem with the X-rays. X-rays are never good at predicting enlarged heart, heart size in an X-ray may look changed depending upon.1) position of the patient when X-ray was taken, Standing, lying, sitting cause different heart size in X-ray.2) Inspiration expiration also make heart size look changed. And there are many other factors due to which X-ray can not be relied upon for heart enlargement. I would suggest you to meet your Doctor, and discuss if you need an echocardiography. Only Echo can predict well about the heart size, I would suggest you not to worry about random X-ray finding but do discuss other confirmatory options with your doctor. .... I Hope this answers your question, if your have more queries feel free to ask, I will be pleased to alleviate your concerns. Wish you the best of health.