Cardiac tamponade

Injury	Disease	Nutrition	Poison

Symptoms	Surgery	Test	Special Topic

Heart, front view

Pericardium

Cardiac tamponade

Overview

Symptoms

Treatment

Prevention

Cardiac tamponade

Alternative Names:

Tamponade; Pericardial tamponade

Symptoms:

Anxiety, restlessness
Discomfort, sometimes relieved by sitting upright or leaning forward.
Difficulty breathing
Rapid breathing
Fainting, light-headedness
Chest pain
- Radiating to the neck, shoulder, back or abdomen
- Sharp, stabbing
- Worsened by deep breathing or coughing
Swelling of the abdomen or other areas
Skin pale, gray or blue
Palpitations

Additional symptoms that may be associated with this disease:

Pulse, weak or absent
Drowsiness
Dizziness
Low blood pressure

Signs and tests:

Although there are no specific laboratory tests that diagnose tamponade, echocardiogram is first choice to help establish the diagnosis. The heart will often sound uncharacteristically faint during examination with a stethoscope. Peripheral pulses may be weak or absent. Neck veins may be distended but the blood pressure may be low.

The heart rate may be over 100 (normal is 60 to 100 beats per minute), and breathing may be rapid (faster than 12 breaths in an adult per minute). The blood pressure may fall (pulsus paradoxical) when the person inhales deeply.

Fluid in the pericardial sac may show on:
- Chest x-ray
- Echocardiogram
- Chest CT or MRI of chest
- Coronary angiography (may show other changes also)
ECG changes include low voltage wave forms

Review Date: 7/14/2004
Reviewed By: Norman S. Kato, MD, Surgeon with the Cardiac Care Medical Group, Encino, CA. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.

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