Premium
Proximal Aortic Dissection Complicated by Cardiac Tamponade
Author(s) -
BOOK WENDY,
MOLLOD MICHAEL,
FELNER JOEL M.
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
echocardiography
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.404
H-Index - 62
eISSN - 1540-8175
pISSN - 0742-2822
DOI - 10.1111/j.1540-8175.1997.tb00721.x
Subject(s) - medicine , cardiac tamponade , aortic dissection , pericardiocentesis , tamponade , cardiology , dissection (medical) , surgery , complication , aorta
Cardiac tamponade is a well recognized complication of acute proximal aortic dissection and is almost uniformly fatal if not immediately diagnosed and surgically treated. Pericardiocentesis has an ill‐defined and perhaps deleterious role in the management of this condition. Severe concentric left ventricular hypertrophy and intravascular volume depletion may further impede ventricular filling in a patient with cardiac tamponade. We describe the management of a patient who presented in a confused state with an acute proximal aortic dissection complicated by cardiac tamponade and associated with evidence of left ventricular outflow tract obstruction. In such a patient, aggressive fluid administration and emergency surgery should be the treatment of choice.