Cardiac Tamponade: Overview, Symptoms, Signs, Causes, Risk factor, Diagnosis and Treatment (1)

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Cardiac Tamponade
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Cardiac Tamponade

• Cardiac tamponade  is pressure on the heart
  that occurs when blood or fluid builds up in the
  space between the heart muscle and the outer
  covering sac of the heart. The condition is a
  medical emergency, the complications of which
  include pulmonary edema, shock, and death.
• In this condition, blood or fluid collects in the
  sac surrounding the heart.
• This prevents the heart ventricles from expanding
  fully. The excess pressure from the fluid
  prevents the heart from working properly

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Symptoms of cardiac tamponade

• Anxiety, restlessness
• Discomfort, sometimes relieved by sitting upright
  or leaning forward
• Fainting, light-headedness
• Pale, gray, or blue skin
• Palpitations
• Rapid breathing
• Swelling of the legs or abdomen
• Jaundice
• Sharp chest pain that is felt in the neck,
  shoulder, back, or abdomen
• Chest pain that gets worse with deep breathing or
  coughing
• Problems breathing
• Dizziness

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Causes of cardiac tamponade

• Dissecting aortic aneurysm (thoracic)
• End-stage lung cancer
• Heart attack (acute MI)
• Heart surgery
• Pericardit is caused by bacterial or viral
  infections
• Wounds to the heart

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Other causes may include

• Heart tumours
• Underactive thyroid gland
• Kidney failure
• Leukaemia
• Placement of central lines
• Radiation therapy to the chest
• Recent invasive heart procedures
• Systemic lupus erythematosus
• Dematomyositis
• Heart failure

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Treatment of cardiac tamponade

• Treatment from dealing with emergency of cardiac
  tamponade include releasing the fluid which is
  accumulated in the space. The techniques of the
  fluid release may include
• The fluid around the heart must be drained as
  quickly as possible. A procedure that uses a
  needle to remove fluid from the tissue that
  surrounds the heart will be done
• A surgical procedure to cut and remove part of
  the covering of the heart (pericardium) may also
  be done. This is known as surgical
  pericardiectomy or pericardial window
• Fluids are given to keep blood pressure normal
  until the fluid can be drained from around the
  heart. Medicines that increase blood pressuremay
  also help keep the person alive until the fluid
  is drained
• Oxygen may be given to help reduce the workload
  on the heart by decreasing tissue demands for
  blood flow.

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Diagnosis of cardiac tamponade

• Early diagnosis is the key to decrease the
  mortality rate by cardiac tamponade. Diagnosis
  may include
• Physical examination which may search for
• Blood pressure that falls when breathing deeply
• Rapid breathing
• Heart rate over 100 (normal is 60 to 100 beats
  per minute)
• Heart sounds are only faintly heard through a
  stethoscope
• Neck veins that may be bulging (distended) but
  the blood pressure is low
• Weak or absent peripheral pulses

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Diagnosis of cardiac tamponade
Continue

• Other imaging techniques are carried out such as
  
• Chest CT or MRI of chest
• Chest x-ray
• Coronary angiography
• ECG (Echocardiography)
• The may key for cardiac tamponade is correct
  diagnosis in correct time. It can reduce the
  mortality rate to many folds.

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