What is cardiac tamponade ?

Dr. Mayuresh JoshiGeneral Physician16yrs exp

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Cardiac�tamponade�is pressure on the heart muscle which occurs when the pericardial space fills up with fluid faster than the pericardial sac can stretch. If the amount of fluid increases slowly (such as in hypothyroidism) the pericardial sac can expand to contain a liter or more of fluid prior to tamponade occurring. If the fluid effusion occurs rapidly (as may occur after trauma or myocardial rupture) as little as 100 mL can cause tamponade. 

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