Cardiothoracic ratio
Updates to Article Attributes
The cardiothoracic ratio (CTR) aids in the detection of enlargement of the cardiac silhouette, which is most commonly from cardiomegaly but can be due to other processes such as pericardial effusion.
Radiographic features
The CTR is measured on a PA chest x-ray, and is the ratio of maximal horizontal cardiac diameter to maximal horizontal thoracic diameter (inner edge of ribs / edge of pleura). A normal measurement should be <0.5.
Related pathology
It should be noted that this measurement is a coarse marker of disease 4. If the patient is symptomatic then echocardiography is required but the yield of echocardiography is low if performed just for an increased CTR 3.
In some situations, the an increased cardiothoracic ratio on a PA radiograph may justbe a result fromof a prominent epicardial fat pad and/or due to expiration rather than from due to cardiomegaly.
-<p>The <strong>cardiothoracic ratio</strong> (<strong>CTR</strong>) aids in the detection of <a href="/articles/enlargement-of-the-cardiac-silhouette">enlargement of the cardiac silhouette</a>, which is most commonly from cardiomegaly but can be due to other processes such as <a href="/articles/pericardial-effusion">pericardial effusion</a>. </p><h4>Radiographic features</h4><p>The CTR is measured on a PA <a href="/articles/chest-radiograph">chest x-ray</a>, and is the ratio of maximal horizontal cardiac diameter to maximal horizontal thoracic diameter (inner edge of ribs / edge of pleura). A normal measurement should be <0.5. </p><h4>Related pathology</h4><p>It should be noted that this measurement is a coarse marker of disease <sup>4</sup>. If the patient is symptomatic then echocardiography is required but the yield of echocardiography is low if performed just for an increased CTR <sup>3</sup>.</p><p>In some situations, the an increased cardiothoracic ratio on a PA radiograph may just result from a <a href="/articles/prominent-epicardial-fat-pad">prominent epicardial fat pad</a> and due to <a href="/articles/expiratory-chest-radiograph">expiration</a> rather than from due to cardiomegaly.</p>- +<p>The <strong>cardiothoracic ratio</strong> (<strong>CTR</strong>) aids in the detection of <a href="/articles/enlargement-of-the-cardiac-silhouette">enlargement of the cardiac silhouette</a>, which is most commonly from cardiomegaly but can be due to other processes such as <a href="/articles/pericardial-effusion">pericardial effusion</a>. </p><h4>Radiographic features</h4><p>The CTR is measured on a PA <a href="/articles/chest-radiograph">chest x-ray</a>, and is the ratio of maximal horizontal cardiac diameter to maximal horizontal thoracic diameter (inner edge of ribs / edge of pleura). A normal measurement should be <0.5. </p><h4>Related pathology</h4><p>It should be noted that this measurement is a coarse marker of disease <sup>4</sup>. If the patient is symptomatic then echocardiography is required but the yield of echocardiography is low if performed just for an increased CTR <sup>3</sup>.</p><p>In some situations, an increased cardiothoracic ratio on a PA radiograph may be a result of a <a href="/articles/prominent-epicardial-fat-pad">prominent epicardial fat pad</a> and/or due to <a href="/articles/chest-expiratory-view">expiration</a> rather than cardiomegaly.</p>
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