Final answer:
Increased preload of the cardiac chambers can lead to the symptom of edema, as the heart becomes inefficient in pumping blood, causing fluid accumulation in body tissues.
Step-by-step explanation:
Increased preload of the cardiac chambers often leads to edema, which is the accumulation of fluid in the body tissues. Preload refers to the volume of blood in the ventricles at the end of diastole, before the next contraction. When this volume increases, the heart may become inefficient at pumping the blood, leading to congestion and the buildup of fluid, particularly in the lower extremities, lungs, or abdomen.
Conditions like heart failure typically present with increased preload, resulting in symptoms such as edema, shortness of breath, and fatigue. It does not typically cause a decrease in heart rate, respiratory rate, or excitability. Instead, the heart may initially try to pump harder (increasing cardiac output and potentially heart rate) to overcome the increased preload, eventually leading to compensatory mechanisms that fail over time, manifesting as edema.