Cardiac tamponade
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Cardiac tamponade also known as pericardial tamponade, is an emergency condition in which fluid accumulates in the pericardium (the sac in which the heart is enclosed). If the fluid significantly elevates the pressure on the heart it will prevent the heart's ventricles from filling properly. This in turn leads to a low stroke volume. The end result is ineffective pumping of blood, shock, and often death.

Cardiac tamponade occurs when the pericardial space fills up with fluid faster than the pericardial sac can stretch. If the amount of fluid increases slowly (such as in hypothyroidism) the pericardial sac can expand to contain a liter or more of fluid prior to tamponade occurring. If the fluid occurs rapidly (as may occur after trauma or myocardial rupture) as little as 100 ml can cause tamponade.

Causes of increased pericardial effusion include hypothyroidism, physical trauma (either penetrating trauma involving the pericardium or blunt chest trauma), pericarditis (inflammation of the pericardium), iatrogenic trauma (during an invasive procedure), and myocardial rupture.

Cardiac tamponade is caused by a large or uncontrolled pericardial effusion, i.e. the buildup of fluid inside the pericardium. This commonly occurs as a result of chest trauma (both blunt and penetrating), but can also be caused by myocardial rupture, cancer, uraemia, pericarditis, or cardiac surgery, and rarely occurs during retrograde aortic dissection, or whilst the patient is taking anticoagulant therapy. The effusion can occur rapidly (as in the case of trauma or myocardial rupture), or over a more gradual period of time (as in cancer). The fluid involved is often blood, but pus is also found in some circumstances.

Myocardial rupture is a somewhat uncommon cause of pericardial tamponade. It typically happens in the subacute setting after a myocardial infarction (heart attack), in which the infarcted muscle of the heart thins out and tears. Myocardial rupture is more likely to happen in elderly individuals without any previous cardiac history who suffer from their first heart attack and are not revascularized either with thrombolytic therapy or with percutaneous coronary intervention or with coronary artery bypass graft surgery.

One of the most common settings for cardiac tamponade is in the first 24 to 48 hours after heart surgery. After heart surgery, chest tubes are placed to drain blood. These chest tubes, however, are prone to clot formation. When a chest tube becomes occluded or clogged, the blood that should be drained can accumulate around the heart, leading to tamponade. Nurses will frequently milk clots from the tubes, or strip the tubes, but even with these efforts chest tubes can become clogged. Thus, after heart surgery it is critical to be on the watch for chest tube clogging.

Myocardial infarction is necrosis of the myocardium because of the local obstruction of blood to the affected tissue.

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Everolimus Increases Risk for Pericardial Effusion in De Novo Heart Transplant ... - DG News Tweet this news
DG News--"Looking at -cardiac tamponade-, which is a really serious adverse event, there seemed to be a higher incidence in all the everolimus groups, ... - Date : Mon, 23 Aug 2010 19:34:56 GMT+00:00
Change in golden retriever a scary sight - The Coloradoan Tweet this news
The Coloradoan--This situation is known as -cardiac tamponade-, and it's life-threatening. Guthrie needed a procedure called pericardiocentesis, in which ultrasound is used ... - Date : Thu, 12 Aug 2010 11:09:01 GMT+00:00
Business Owner's Memory Lives On - Gazette Newspapers Tweet this news
Gazette Newspapers--When Toulios suddenly died on Monday, May 17, of complications from a -cardiac tamponade- (fluid buildup around the heart), the close-knit business community ... - Date : Wed, 25 Aug 2010 22:08:19 GMT+00:00
Veinity Fair: Evaluating jugular venous distension - EMS1.com Tweet this news
EMS1.com--Obstructive shock, such as that induced by -cardiac tamponade- or tension pneumothorax, can be a life-threatening event, and evaluation of JVD may yield ... - Date : Wed, 11 Aug 2010 00:03:39 GMT+00:00
Surgeon faces suit - Odessa American Tweet this news
Odessa American---...- vessel and blood began filling the pericardium � a double-walled sac that contains the heart � resulting in a -cardiac tamponade-, the lawsuit claims. ... - Date : Sun, 08 Aug 2010 01:09:57 GMT+00:00
Stabbing Expert Testifies On Robert Wone's Oddly Uniform Wounds - Washington City Paper (blog) Tweet this news
Washington City Paper (blog)--The defense has floated the theory that perhaps Wone may have suffered a -cardiac tamponade-, resulting in a more instantaneous death than a typical stabbing ... - Date : Wed, 16 Jun 2010 16:46:25 GMT+00:00
Timeline of Death in Question in Robert Wone Trial - Washington City Paper (blog) Tweet this news
Washington City Paper (blog)--Smith also asserted that -cardiac tamponade-, the state Wone's heart went into after the stabbing, only lasts up to a minute. That would mean Wone was killed ... - Date : Fri, 18 Jun 2010 23:16:21 GMT+00:00
Periprocedural Stroke and Management of Major Bleeding Complications in ... - Cardiosource Tweet this news
Cardiosource--There was no significant difference in the risk of -cardiac tamponade- between the patients on or off warfarin (0.3% and 0.2%, respectively) or in the risk of ... - Date : Tue, 08 Jun 2010 14:50:25 GMT+00:00
Catheter ablation outcomes similar in elderly patients with ventricular ... - Cardiology Today Tweet this news
Cardiology Today--Major complications, including cardiogenic shock, -cardiac tamponade- and cerebral infarction, occurred in 5.6% of elderly patients and 2.3% of younger ... - Date : Thu, 17 Jun 2010 13:38:25 GMT+00:00
Der Fischer, der zu langsam ruderte - Basler Zeitung Tweet this news
Basler Zeitung--The Lancet 2009, Bd. 373, S. 432 S. Sanda, RS Newfield, »A child with pericardial effusion and -cardiac tamponade- due to previously unrecognized ... - Date : Sat, 12 Jun 2010 02:01:41 GMT+00:00

Cardiovascular disease: heart disease * Circulatory system pathology (I00-I52, 390-429)

Ischaemic
CD/CHDCAD * Coronary thrombosis * Coronary vasospasm * Coronary artery aneurysm * Coronary artery dissection * Myocardial Bridge
Active ischemiaAngina pectoris (Prinzmetal's angina, Stable angina) * Acute coronary (Unstable angina, Myocardial infarction / heart attack)
Sequelaehours (Myocardial stunning, Hibernating myocardium) * days (Myocardial rupture) * weeks (Aneurysm of heart/Ventricular aneurysm, Dressler's syndrome)
Layers

Cardiovascular disease: heart disease * Circulatory system pathology (I00-I52, 390-429)

Ischaemic
CD/CHDCAD * Coronary thrombosis * Coronary vasospasm * Coronary artery aneurysm * Coronary artery dissection * Myocardial Bridge
Active ischemiaAngina pectoris (Prinzmetal's angina, Stable angina) * Acute coronary (Unstable angina, Myocardial infarction / heart attack)
Sequelaehours (Myocardial stunning, Hibernating myocardium) * days (Myocardial rupture) * weeks (Aneurysm of heart/Ventricular aneurysm, Dressler's syndrome)
Layers
Pericardium
Pericarditis (Acute, Chronic/Constrictive) * Pericardial effusion (Hemopericardium, Cardiac tamponade)
Ischaemic
CD/CHDCAD * Coronary thrombosis * Coronary vasospasm * Coronary artery aneurysm * Coronary artery dissection * Myocardial Bridge
Active ischemiaAngina pectoris (Prinzmetal's angina, Stable angina) * Acute coronary (Unstable angina, Myocardial infarction / heart attack)
Sequelaehours (Myocardial stunning, Hibernating myocardium) * days (Myocardial rupture) * weeks (Aneurysm of heart/Ventricular aneurysm, Dressler's syndrome)
Layers
subgroup |groupstyle=background-color: MistyRose |Pericardium |Pericarditis (Acute, Chronic/Constrictive) * Pericardial effusion (Hemopericardium, Cardiac tamponade) |Myocardium |Myocarditis (Chagas disease) Cardiomyopathy: Dilated (Alcoholic) * Hypertrophic * Restrictive (Loeffler endocarditis, Cardiac amyloidosis, Endocardial fibroelastosis) Arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia |Endocardium/
valves |

Cardiovascular disease: heart disease * Circulatory system pathology (I00-I52, 390-429)

Ischaemic
CD/CHDCAD * Coronary thrombosis * Coronary vasospasm * Coronary artery aneurysm * Coronary artery dissection * Myocardial Bridge
Active ischemiaAngina pectoris (Prinzmetal's angina, Stable angina) * Acute coronary (Unstable angina, Myocardial infarction / heart attack)
Sequelaehours (Myocardial stunning, Hibernating myocardium) * days (Myocardial rupture) * weeks (Aneurysm of heart/Ventricular aneurysm, Dressler's syndrome)
Layers
Pericardium
Pericarditis (Acute, Chronic/Constrictive) * Pericardial effusion (Hemopericardium, Cardiac tamponade)
Ischaemic
CD/CHDCAD * Coronary thrombosis * Coronary vasospasm * Coronary artery aneurysm * Coronary artery dissection * Myocardial Bridge
Active ischemiaAngina pectoris (Prinzmetal's angina, Stable angina) * Acute coronary (Unstable angina, Myocardial infarction / heart attack)
Sequelaehours (Myocardial stunning, Hibernating myocardium) * days (Myocardial rupture) * weeks (Aneurysm of heart/Ventricular aneurysm, Dressler's syndrome)
Layers
subgroup |groupstyle=background-color: MistyRose |Pericardium |Pericarditis (Acute, Chronic/Constrictive) * Pericardial effusion (Hemopericardium, Cardiac tamponade) |Myocardium |Myocarditis (Chagas disease) Cardiomyopathy: Dilated (Alcoholic) * Hypertrophic * Restrictive (Loeffler endocarditis, Cardiac amyloidosis, Endocardial fibroelastosis) Arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia |Endocardium/
valves |
Pericardium
Pericarditis (Acute, Chronic/Constrictive) * Pericardial effusion (Hemopericardium, Cardiac tamponade)
Ischaemic
CD/CHDCAD * Coronary thrombosis * Coronary vasospasm * Coronary artery aneurysm * Coronary artery dissection * Myocardial Bridge
Active ischemiaAngina pectoris (Prinzmetal's angina, Stable angina) * Acute coronary (Unstable angina, Myocardial infarction / heart attack)
Sequelaehours (Myocardial stunning, Hibernating myocardium) * days (Myocardial rupture) * weeks (Aneurysm of heart/Ventricular aneurysm, Dressler's syndrome)
Layers
subgroup |groupstyle=background-color: MistyRose |Pericardium |Pericarditis (Acute, Chronic/Constrictive) * Pericardial effusion (Hemopericardium, Cardiac tamponade) |Myocardium |Myocarditis (Chagas disease) Cardiomyopathy: Dilated (Alcoholic) * Hypertrophic * Restrictive (Loeffler endocarditis, Cardiac amyloidosis, Endocardial fibroelastosis) Arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia |Endocardium/
valves |
Pre-excitation syndrome
Wolff-Parkinson-White * Lown-Ganong-Levine
Flutter/fibrillation
Atrial flutter * Ventricular flutter * Atrial fibrillation (Familial) * Ventricular fibrillation
Pacemaker
Wandering pacemaker * Ectopic pacemaker/Ectopic beat * Parasystole * Multifocal atrial tachycardia * Pacemaker syndrome
Long QT syndrome
Romano-Ward syndrome * Andersen-Tawil syndrome * Jervell and Lange-Nielsen syndrome
Cardiac arrest
Sudden cardiac death * Asystole * Pulseless electrical activity * Sinoatrial arrest
Other/ungrouped
hexaxial reference system (Right axis deviation, Left axis deviation) * QT (Short QT syndrome) * T (T wave alternans) * ST (Osborn wave, ST elevation, ST depression)



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