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Pericardial Tamponade
Cardiac tamponade, also known as pericardial tamponade (), is the buildup of fluid in the pericardium (the sac around the heart), resulting in compression of the heart. Onset may be rapid or gradual. Symptoms typically include those of obstructive shock including shortness of breath, weakness, lightheadedness, and cough. Other symptoms may relate to the underlying cause. Common causes of cardiac tamponade include cancer, kidney failure, chest trauma, myocardial infarction, and pericarditis. Other causes include connective tissues diseases, hypothyroidism, aortic rupture, autoimmune disease, and complications of cardiac surgery. In Africa, tuberculosis is a relatively common cause. Diagnosis may be suspected based on low blood pressure, jugular venous distension, or quiet heart sounds (together known as Beck's triad). A pericardial rub may be present in cases due to inflammation. The diagnosis may be further supported by specific electrocardiogram (ECG) changes, chest ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pericardial Effusion
A pericardial effusion is an abnormal accumulation of fluid in the pericardial cavity. The pericardium is a two-part membrane surrounding the heart: the outer fibrous connective membrane and an inner two-layered serous membrane. The two layers of the serous membrane enclose the pericardial cavity (the potential space) between them.Phelan, D., Collier, P., Grimm, R. Pericardial Disease'. Cleveland Clinic. July 2015. Retrieved Nov 2020. This pericardial space contains a small amount of pericardial fluid. The fluid is normally 15-50 mL in volume. The pericardium, specifically the pericardial fluid provides lubrication, maintains the anatomic position of the heart in the chest, and also serves as a barrier to protect the heart from infection and inflammation in adjacent tissues and organs.Vogiatzidis, Konstantinos et al.Physiology of pericardial fluid production and drainage" ''Frontiers in physiology'' vol. 6 62. 18 Mar. 2015, doi:10.3389/fphys.2015.00062 By definition, a pericardial e ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Myocardial Infarction
A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may travel into the shoulder, arm, back, neck or jaw. Often it occurs in the center or left side of the chest and lasts for more than a few minutes. The discomfort may occasionally feel like heartburn. Other symptoms may include shortness of breath, nausea, feeling faint, a cold sweat or feeling tired. About 30% of people have atypical symptoms. Women more often present without chest pain and instead have neck pain, arm pain or feel tired. Among those over 75 years old, about 5% have had an MI with little or no history of symptoms. An MI may cause heart failure, an irregular heartbeat, cardiogenic shock or cardiac arrest. Most MIs occur due to coronary artery disease. Risk factors include high blood pressure, smoking, diabetes, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dobutamine
Dobutamine is a medication used in the treatment of cardiogenic shock (as a result of inadequate tissue perfusion) and severe heart failure. It may also be used in certain types of cardiac stress tests. It is given by IV only, as an injection into a vein or intraosseous as a continuous infusion. The amount of medication needs to be adjusted to the desired effect. Onset of effects is generally seen within 2 minutes. It has a half-life of two minutes. This drug is generally only administered short term, although it may be used for longer periods to relieve symptoms of heart failure in patients awaiting heart transplantation. Common side effects include a fast heart rate, an irregular heart beat, and inflammation at the site of injection. Use is not recommended in those with idiopathic hypertrophic subaortic stenosis. It primarily works by direct stimulation of β1 receptors, which increases the strength of the heart's contractions, leading to a positive ionotrophic effect. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chest X-ray
A chest radiograph, called a chest X-ray (CXR), or chest film, is a projection radiograph of the chest used to diagnose conditions affecting the chest, its contents, and nearby structures. Chest radiographs are the most common film taken in medicine. Like all methods of radiography, chest radiography employs ionizing radiation in the form of X-rays to generate images of the chest. The mean radiation dose to an adult from a chest radiograph is around 0.02 mSv (2 mrem) for a front view (PA, or posteroanterior) and 0.08 mSv (8 mrem) for a side view (LL, or latero-lateral). Together, this corresponds to a background radiation equivalent time of about 10 days. Medical uses Conditions commonly identified by chest radiography * Pneumonia * Pneumothorax * Interstitial lung disease * Heart failure * Bone fracture * Hiatal hernia Chest radiographs are used to diagnose many conditions involving the chest wall, including its bones, and also structures contained within the thoracic c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pericardial Rub
A pericardial friction rub, also pericardial rub, is an audible medical sign used in the diagnosis of pericarditis. Upon auscultation, this sign is an extra heart sound of to-and-fro character, typically with three components, two systolic and one diastolic. It resembles the sound of squeaky leather and often is described as grating, scratching, or rasping. The sound seems very close to the ear and may seem louder than or may even mask the other heart sounds. The sound usually is best heard between the apex and sternum but may be widespread. Cause The pericardium is a double-walled sac around the heart. The inner and outer (visceral and parietal, respectively) layers are normally lubricated by a small amount of pericardial fluid, but the inflammation of pericardium causes the walls to rub against each other with audible friction. In children, rheumatic fever is often the cause of pericardial friction rub. Pericardial friction rubs can also be heard in pericarditis that is associa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Beck's Triad (cardiology)
Beck's triad is a collection of three medical signs associated with acute cardiac tamponade, a medical emergency when excessive fluid accumulates in the pericardial sac around the heart and impairs its ability to pump blood. The signs are low arterial blood pressure, distended neck veins, and distant, muffled heart sounds. Narrowed pulse pressure might also be observed. The concept was developed in 1935 by Claude Beck, a resident and later Professor of Cardiovascular Surgery at Case Western Reserve University. Components The components are: # Hypotension with a narrowed pulse pressure # Jugular venous distention (JVD) # Muffled heart sounds Physiology The fall in arterial blood pressure results from pericardial fluid accumulation inside the pericardial sac, which decreases the maximum size of the ventricles. This limits diastolic expansion (filling) which results in a lower EDV (End Diastolic Volume) which reduces stroke volume, a major determinant of systolic blood pressu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Heart Sounds
Heart sounds are the noises generated by the beating heart and the resultant flow of blood through it. Specifically, the sounds reflect the turbulence created when the heart valves snap shut. In cardiac auscultation, an examiner may use a stethoscope to listen for these unique and distinct sounds that provide important auditory data regarding the condition of the heart. In healthy adults, there are two normal heart sounds, often described as a ''lub'' and a ''dub'' that occur in sequence with each heartbeat. These are the first heart sound (S1) and second heart sound (S2), produced by the closing of the atrioventricular valves and semilunar valves, respectively. In addition to these normal sounds, a variety of other sounds may be present including heart murmurs, adventitious sounds, and gallop rhythms S3 and S4. Heart murmurs are generated by turbulent flow of blood and a murmur to be heard as turbulent flow must require pressure difference of at least 30 mm of Hg between t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jugular Venous Distension
The jugular venous pressure (JVP, sometimes referred to as ''jugular venous pulse'') is the indirectly observed pressure over the vein, venous system via visualization of the internal jugular vein. It can be useful in the differentiation of different forms of heart disease, heart and lung disease. Classically three upward deflections and two downward deflections have been described. * The upward deflections are the "a" (atrial contraction), "c" (ventricular contraction and resulting bulging of tricuspid into the right atrium during isovolumetric systole) and "v" (venous filling). * The downward deflections of the wave are the "x" descent (the atrium relaxes and the tricuspid valve moves downward) and the "y" descent (filling of ventricle after tricuspid opening). Method Visualization The patient is positioned at a 45° incline, and the filling level of the external jugular vein determined. The internal jugular vein is visualised when looking for the pulsation. In healthy people, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hypotension
Hypotension is low blood pressure. Blood pressure is the force of blood pushing against the walls of the arteries as the heart pumps out blood. Blood pressure is indicated by two numbers, the systolic blood pressure (the top number) and the diastolic blood pressure (the bottom number), which are the maximum and minimum blood pressures, respectively. A systolic blood pressure of less than 90 millimeters of mercury (mmHg) or diastolic of less than 60 mmHg is generally considered to be hypotension. Different numbers apply to children. However, in practice, blood pressure is considered too low only if noticeable symptoms are present. Symptoms include dizziness or lightheadedness, confusion, feeling tired, weakness, headache, blurred vision, nausea, neck or back pain, an irregular heartbeat or feeling that the heart is skipping beats or fluttering, or fainting. Hypotension is the opposite of hypertension, which is high blood pressure. It is best understood as a physiological st ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cardiac Surgery
Cardiac surgery, or cardiovascular surgery, is surgery on the heart or great vessels performed by cardiac surgeons. It is often used to treat complications of ischemic heart disease (for example, with coronary artery bypass grafting); to correct congenital heart disease; or to treat valvular heart disease from various causes, including endocarditis, Rheumatic fever, rheumatic heart disease, and atherosclerosis. It also includes heart transplantation. History 19th century The earliest operations on the pericardium (the sac that surrounds the heart) took place in the 19th century and were performed by Francisco Romero (surgeon), Francisco Romero (1801) in the city of Almería (Spain), Dominique Jean Larrey (1810), Henry Dalton (1891), and Daniel Hale Williams (1893). The first surgery on the heart itself was performed by Axel Cappelen on 4 September 1895 at Rikshospitalet in Kristiania, now Oslo. Cappelen ligature (medicine), ligated a bleeding coronary circulation, coronary ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Autoimmune Disease
An autoimmune disease is a condition arising from an abnormal immune response to a functioning body part. At least 80 types of autoimmune diseases have been identified, with some evidence suggesting that there may be more than 100 types. Nearly any body part can be involved. Common symptoms can be diverse and transient, ranging from mild to severe, and generally include low grade fever and feeling tired. The cause is unknown. Some autoimmune diseases such as lupus run in families, and certain cases may be triggered by infections or other environmental factors. Some common diseases that are generally considered autoimmune include celiac disease, diabetes mellitus type 1, graves' disease, inflammatory bowel disease, multiple sclerosis, alopecia areata, addison’s disease, pernicious anemia, psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis, and systemic lupus erythematosus. The diagnosis can be difficult to determine. Treatment depends on the type and severity of the condition. Nonsteroidal ant ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
