Cardiac Tamponade
Alert! What You Should Know About Cardiac Tamponade
Are you often troubled by frustrations, angst and anxiety?
Well, all of us have our own share of problem. They make you
idle, stupid and downtrodden. Don’t let them get you
down. For all you know, you may already be a victim of a different
level of stress that causes cardio illnesses.
Cardio is a medical term for the heart. It is originated
from the Greek word kardia. Greeks used K. This also explains
why K is used in EKG or electrocardiogram. Cardio has also
been used to refer to exercises and equipments used in cardiovascular
and aerobic exercises.
One of the most dangerous cardio illnesses of today is cardiac
tamponade. It is also known as pericardial tamponade or tamponade
alone is a condition to describe compression of the heart.
This compression is caused by the increase of blood or fluid
in between myocardium and pericardium. The former is the muscle
of the heart while the latter is the outer covering sac of
the heart. Blood or fluid will gather in the pericardium,
and when this happens, it will thwart the ventricles from
expanding fully. And hence, the heart will not be able to
adequately pump blood.
Pericarditis is most often linked with cardiac tamponade
caused by viral or bacterial infections. Apart from pericarditis,
heart surgery wounds to the heart, end-stage of lung cancer,
dissecting aortic aneurysm and acute myocardial infarction
might lead to tamponade. There are also other possible causes
are heart tumors, heart attack, radiation therapy to the chest,
systemic lupus erythematosus, hypothyroidism and the likes.
Tamponade can be fatal if not treated properly and immediately.
However, there is still a possibility of its recurrence. That
is how life-threatening this cardio illness can be.
Tamponade is also rampant and almost 2 out of 10,000 persons
are affected by this malady.
If you come across any of the symptoms of cardiac tamponade
such as restlessness, anxiety, discomfort, fainting, chest
pain, palpitations, difficulty in breathing, rapid breathing,
skin pale, drowsiness, weak pulse and low blood pressure,
see your physician immediately. Only a qualified doctor will
identify whether you have a serious cardio illness or not.
Cardiac tamponade needs immediate medical attention. This
is why you should visit your doctor regularly so that illness
may not develop into a fatal one. In case of any occurrence
of illness, it can be prevented immediately.
Unfortunately, there are no specific cardio tests to diagnose
tamponade, however, echocardiogram can help to establish the
diagnosis. ECG can also be resorted to note the changes in
the body’s wave forms. Other than that, the physician
may need chest x-ray, chest CT/ MRI chest or coronary angiography
to show the accumulation of fluid in the pericardial sac.
To treat this cardio illness, one might need to undergo pericardiocentesis
which is a process of draining the fluid around the cardio.
Another method would be cutting or removing part of the pericardium.
There are many circumstances when cardiac tamponade is not
preventable. However, we can be aware of its causes, risk
factors and treatment.
As a conclusion, the best prevention we can have is to live
a healthy and sound lifestyle. We can engage in exercises
such as aerobics, cardio kickboxing, karate, walking to keep
our heart healthy. Yoga and other forms of meditations are
also good in stabilizing your cardio. Combine a healthy diet
and good cardio exercises will give you a healthy life.
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