*Cardiac Tamponade*

Cardiac tamponade is a life threatening condition characterized by the accumulation of pericardial fluid in the pericardial space. Cardiac tamponade is a #pericardialeffusion which makes a person symptomatic.

There are many causes of pericardial effusions. When pericardial effusion occurs acutely it causes symptoms and can be life-threatening (tamponade). When fluid accumulating in the pericardial space is slow this is a chronic pericardial effusion and usually does not manifest with symptoms until it becomes so large.

Clinical manifestation of a cardiac tamponade is the triad: distended JVP, low bp and muffled heart sounds. This triad is called Beck’s triad first described by Claude Beck in the 1930s to describe acute cardiac tamponade.