AQA A Level PE – The Cardiovascular System Practice Test

Eccentric hypertrophy occurs when the heart adapts to volume overload, so the ventricle dilates and the chamber size increases. This enlargement allows a greater end-diastolic volume, which can raise stroke volume as the heart fills more and pumps out more blood. The wall may thicken to a degree, but the defining feature is the increased chamber size rather than a markedly thicker wall. The other statements mix up which type of hypertrophy causes chamber enlargement versus wall thickening and reduced chamber size—eccentric is about dilation with a relatively preserved or modestly increased wall, not a thickened, smaller chamber. So describing eccentric hypertrophy as enlarging the chamber and improving stroke volume best fits the physiological adaptation.