The significance of the enlargement of the aortic shadow in adult Nigerians.

A study of the width of the aortic shadow and of the cardiothoracic ratios in 183 chest radiographs, of persons over the age of 35 years, shows that hypertension produces a constant enlargment of the aortic shadow. The study suggests that gross enlargement, in the absence of disease of the aorta or of the aortic valves, is a result of hypertension. The authors suggest that this enlargement is valuable in delineating a sub-group of cases of myocardial failure in which the primary cause of failure may be hypertension.