Cardiac tamponade

Alternative names:

pericardial tamponade; tamponade

Definition:

A condition involving compression of the heart caused by blood or fluid accumulation in the sac around the heart (pericardium).

Causes, incidence, and risk factors:

Cardiac tamponade may be related to pericarditis that results from bacterial or viral infections. It may also be related to heart surgery, dissecting aortic aneurysm (thoracic), and acute MI.

Blood or fluid collects in the pericardium. This prevents the ventricles from expanding fully, so they cannot adequately fill or pump blood.

Risks for cardiac tamponade include many disorders, such as pericarditis, heart tumors, kidney failure, recent heart attack, injury to the pericardium from surgery or accident, recent invasive heart procedures, radiation therapy to the chest, hypothyroidism, and systemic lupus erythematosus.

Cardiac tamponade occurs in approximately 2 out of 10,000 people.