Cardiac tamponade is a spectrum ranging from pericardial effusions with minimal hemodynamic impairment to effusions causing circulatory collapse. In this study, we examined the roles played by the sympathetic nervous system and the renin-angiotensin system in controlling the distribution of blood flow in chronically instrumented conscious dogs during progressive cardiac tamponade. Fifty-one epi...

We studied the hemodynamic effects of surgically induced regional cardiac tamponade in anesthetized dogs. Tamponade restricted to either the right or the left ventricle was compared with tamponade of either ventricle and both atria. Intrapericardial pressures were elevated to approximately 20 mm Hg. With tamponade of the right ventricle alone, aortic pressure rose from 161 + 3.8 to 164 + 3.4 mm...

OBJECTIVE To investigate the effectiveness of X-ray and echocardiography (ECHO) as a diagnostic tool for cardiac tamponade in adult cardiac surgery patients. METHODS Thirty five coronary artery bypass and graft surgery patients who developed cardiac tamponade at Cleveland clinic foundation, were included in this study. Their diagnosis was confirmed at the time of re-exploration in the operati...

INTRODUCTION Pericardial effusion and cardiac tamponade can develop in patients with virtually any condition that affects the pericardium. A high index of suspicion with proper diagnostic scheme can lessen the concomitant morbidity and mortality. Although cardiac tamponade mimics many medical conditions, internists and primary care physicians should be aware of the physiological and clinical as...

SUMMARY Cardiac tamponade that occurs late after cardiac surgery (7 days) is relatively uncommon but potentially fatal. We analyzed its incidence, clinical course and relationship to the postpericardiotomy syndrome in 1290 consecutive adult patients who survived surgery. Criteria for diagnosis of cardiac tamponade were (1) elevated jugular venous pressure, (2) hypotension or decreased cardiac i...

Non-penetrating cardiac traumatisms can cause cardiac rupture, myocardial contusion or, rarely, commotio cordis. In cases of rupture of a cardiac cavity, acute and severe cardiac tamponade almost invariably occurs. This paper presents an exceptionally unusual case of non-penetrating cardiac trauma resulting in right atrium rupture contained by the pericardial cavity. A situation of exceptional ...

This study aimed to investigate the incidence, predictors, and clinical outcomes of cardiac tamponade after heart valve surgery. A total of 556 patients who underwent heart valve surgery in a single tertiary center between January 2010 and March 2012 were studied. All patients underwent transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) about 5 days after surgery and TTE was repeated regularly. Patients with...

To test the hypothesis that the electrocardiogram of cardiac rupture is due to acute cardiac tamponade, 27 episodes of cardiac tamponade were produced in ten open-chest dogs. During continuous monitoring of the electrocardiogram and the arterial and venous pressures, 10-30 cc of autologous, heparinized blood, or one of several other solutions, were intermittently infused into the pericardial sa...

To test the hypothesis that the electrocardiogram of cardiac rupture is due to acute cardiac tamponade, 27 episodes of cardiac tamponade were produced in ten open-chest dogs. During continuous monitoring of the electrocardiogram and the arterial and venous pressures, 10-30 cc of autologous, heparinized blood, or one of several other solutions, were intermittently infused into the pericardial sa...

A case report of a patient presenting in cardiac tamponade that was subsequently diagnosed as being secondary to malignancy of unknown primary. The patient was treated by urgent pericardiocentesis, followed by subsequent formation of a subxiphoid pericardial window. He was discharged home and given palliative chemotherapy. Malignant pericardial effusions are common, but it is rare for a patient...