Cardiac Dysphagia: When the Heart Disrupts Swallowing

Cardiac dysphagia is a rare cause of dysphagia due to an enlarged left atrium compressing the esophagus. We describe three patients (ages 70, 71, and 31) with past medical histories of advanced heart disease who presented with diverse clinical manifestations of dysphagia. Recognition of cardiac dysphagia is important to prevent unnecessary esophageal interventions. Multimodal evaluation with barium swallow, esophageal manometry, endoscopy, and cardiac imaging facilitates diagnosis and management. These cases highlight the importance of considering cardiac causes of dysphagia in patients with severe underlying heart disease.