Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsWhat Happens During Cardiac Tamponade?What Causes Fluid Around the Heart?What Are the Symptoms of Cardiac Tamponade?Signs of Cardiac Tamponade: Beck’s TriadHow Is Cardiac Tamponade Diagnosed?How Is Cardiac Tamponade Treated?What’s the Long-Term Outlook?Who’s at Risk for Cardiac Tamponade?Seek Immediate Medical Care
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
What Happens During Cardiac Tamponade?
What Causes Fluid Around the Heart?
What Are the Symptoms of Cardiac Tamponade?
Signs of Cardiac Tamponade: Beck’s Triad
How Is Cardiac Tamponade Diagnosed?
How Is Cardiac Tamponade Treated?
What’s the Long-Term Outlook?
Who’s at Risk for Cardiac Tamponade?
Seek Immediate Medical Care
Cardiac tamponadeis a serious medical condition in which theheartcannot effectively pump blood through the body due to fluid buildup around the heart. The decreased blood flow through the body can lead to organ failure,shock, and even death.
Immediate medical care is necessary for those who are experiencing the symptoms of cardiac tamponade. This article will discuss everything readers need to know about the condition.
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Cardiac tamponade is a medical emergency when too much fluid builds up in the pericardial space. The pericardial space is the area between the heart muscle and the thin sac surrounding the heart called thepericardium.
A small amount of fluid normally exists between the pericardial sac and heart muscle to provide lubrication. However, when too much fluid builds up, it can be dangerous.
Cardiac tamponade occurs when the amount of fluid becomes too large and puts pressure on the heart. This prevents the heart’s ventricles from filling completely, which decreases the amount of blood the heart can pump to the body.
Decreased blood flow to the body (decreased cardiac output) can cause shock. Shock is when organs and tissues do not receive enough blood and begin to shut down.
In cardiac tamponade, there is an excess amount of fluid surrounding the heart, preventing it from pumping effectively. Sometimes, the excess fluid is a clear, serous fluid. This dangerous fluid buildup is called apericardial effusion.
Other times, blood collecting around the heart causes pressure. Several conditions or situations can cause this to happen. They include:
Other less common causes of cardiac tamponade are:
Symptoms of cardiac tamponade include:
In addition to these symptoms, a healthcare provider might detect several signs of cardiac tamponade, such as Beck’s triad. This is a group of three clinical findings that are often found in people with cardiac tamponade. Beck’s triad findings are:
Another clinical finding that is seen with cardiac tamponade ispulsus paradoxus. This is when the systolic blood pressure (top number) decreases more than 10 millimeters of mercury (mm Hg) when breathing in.
Cardiac tamponade may present with symptoms similar to many other conditions, making a diagnosis based on symptoms alone difficult. A healthcare provider will perform an evaluation which may find weak pulses, fast heart rate, quick breathing, and bulging neck veins.
The primary tool used to make a diagnosis is anechocardiogram(echo).This is an ultrasound of the heart done with a device placed on the chest that produces images on an echo machine.
Other diagnostic tools that can be used to help make a diagnosis include:
The mainstay treatment for cardiac tamponade ispericardiocentesis. This procedure drains the fluid from around the heart.
Another treatment option is a pericardial window. This is a surgical procedure in which the surgeon removes a small part of the pericardium to allow the fluid to drain.
A surgeon may choose to perform a pericardial window if cardiac tamponade recurs, there is active bleeding within the chest or heart, or if a biopsy (a tissue sample taken and analyzed in the lab) is necessary.
The outlook for someone with cardiac tamponade will depend upon the underlying condition that caused it and how quickly the person seeks treatment.
When someone has a prompt diagnosis and treatment for cardiac tamponade, the outcome is good.However, if the fluid is not removed quickly, cardiac tamponade can lead toshockand death.
It’s important to keep follow-up appointments as pericardial effusions can recur.
Those who are at risk for cardiac tamponade are people who are more likely to have pericardial effusion. This includes those who have chest orheart surgery, cancer, or kidney disease or who receiveradiation therapy.
Anyone who has the underlying risk factors for cardiac tamponade should work closely with their healthcare provider to monitor symptoms and identify any changes that could indicate fluid buildup in the pericardial space.
If you are at risk for cardiac tamponade and feel any of its symptoms. seek immediate medical care. Cardiac tamponade is a medical emergency. The only successful treatment is a hospital procedure to remove the fluid around the heart.
If cardiac tamponade is left untreated, the continued pressure on the heart will cause less blood flow to the body and lead to organ failure and death. If a healthcare provider detects signs of it, such as Beck’s triad, they will ensure you get emergency medical care.
Summary
A prompt diagnosis and treatment can lead to positive outcomes. However, if left untreated, it can cause shock and death.
6 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.MedlinePlus.Cardiac tamponade.MedlinePlus.Pericardial disorders.MedlinePlus.Shock.Jensen JK, Poulsen SH, Mølgaard, H.Cardiac tamponade: a clinical challenge.E-Journal of Cardiology Practice. 2017;15.Hamzaoui O, Monnet X, Teboul JL.Pulsus paradoxus.European Respiratory Journal. 2013;42(6):1696-1705. doi:10.1183/09031936.00138912Johns Hopkins Medicine.Pericardiocentesis.
6 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.MedlinePlus.Cardiac tamponade.MedlinePlus.Pericardial disorders.MedlinePlus.Shock.Jensen JK, Poulsen SH, Mølgaard, H.Cardiac tamponade: a clinical challenge.E-Journal of Cardiology Practice. 2017;15.Hamzaoui O, Monnet X, Teboul JL.Pulsus paradoxus.European Respiratory Journal. 2013;42(6):1696-1705. doi:10.1183/09031936.00138912Johns Hopkins Medicine.Pericardiocentesis.
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
MedlinePlus.Cardiac tamponade.MedlinePlus.Pericardial disorders.MedlinePlus.Shock.Jensen JK, Poulsen SH, Mølgaard, H.Cardiac tamponade: a clinical challenge.E-Journal of Cardiology Practice. 2017;15.Hamzaoui O, Monnet X, Teboul JL.Pulsus paradoxus.European Respiratory Journal. 2013;42(6):1696-1705. doi:10.1183/09031936.00138912Johns Hopkins Medicine.Pericardiocentesis.
MedlinePlus.Cardiac tamponade.
MedlinePlus.Pericardial disorders.
MedlinePlus.Shock.
Jensen JK, Poulsen SH, Mølgaard, H.Cardiac tamponade: a clinical challenge.E-Journal of Cardiology Practice. 2017;15.
Hamzaoui O, Monnet X, Teboul JL.Pulsus paradoxus.European Respiratory Journal. 2013;42(6):1696-1705. doi:10.1183/09031936.00138912
Johns Hopkins Medicine.Pericardiocentesis.
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