Enlarged heart with left ventricular configuration

[tejan1]

My 3 and half year old daughter had a routine chest x-ray for recurrent chest infections. the x-ray showed an enlarged heart with left ventricular configuration. She is very active but seem to take naps just after nursery. We have had a repeat X-ray and awating results. How worried should I be?

[grendslori]

Has you daughter had an EKG and Echo done? That would show if there was a problem as well.

[Jeffrey R Boris, M.D.]

Dear Tejan,

Without evaluating your daughter, I cannot say how worried you should be.  Unfortunately, chest X-rays are amongst the least helpful studies for evaluating the heart.  In fact, a significant reason for the heart appearing enlarged on a chest X-ray is poor X-ray technique, meaning that the film was shot without the patient taking in a full inspiration.  If the picture is less than a full inspiration, it can fool the reader into thinking that the heart is enlarged.  I would recommend that you have your primary care provider look at the film and help to put the study results into context of the rest of the history and examination of your daughter.