A 65-year-old male exhibits signs of jugular venous distension and cardiomegaly. What is the most likely diagnosis?

Jugular venous distension and cardiomegaly are hallmark signs of heart failure. Jugular venous distension occurs when there is increased pressure in the right atrium, often due to fluid overload or poor cardiac output, which are common in heart failure. Cardiomegaly indicates that the heart is enlarged, a typical response to chronic pressure overload or volume overload seen in heart failure.

In heart failure, the heart struggles to pump blood efficiently, leading to a backlog of blood in the veins, which causes the jugular veins to distend. As the condition progresses, the heart muscle can also enlarge, resulting in cardiomegaly.

While other conditions, such as myocardial infarction, pneumonia, and pleural effusion, can cause some respiratory distress and even contribute to symptoms that might mimic heart failure, they do not specifically encompass the combination of jugular venous distension with cardiomegaly as clearly as heart failure does. Myocardial infarction typically presents acutely with chest pain and may not feature chronic signs like distension and cardiomegaly as prominently. Pneumonia may cause respiratory symptoms but does not directly lead to the cardiac signs presented. Pleural effusion can sometimes cause a shift in medi