What You Should Know About Cardiac Tamponade
Are your frustrations, angst and anxiety troubling you? Well, every one has his own share of those stuffs. They make you idle and downtrodden. They make you feel stupid. Nonetheless, don’t take it too lightly. Without you knowing it, 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 came from the Greek word kardia. Greeks used K. It is the very reason why K is used in EKG or electrocardiogram. Cardio is also used to refer to exercises and equipments used in cardiovascular and aerobic exercises.
One of the most dreadful cardio illnesses we have these days is cardiac tamponade. It is otherwise known as pericardial tamponade or tamponade alone is a condition where there is a compression of the heart. This compression is caused by the accumulation of blood or fluid in between myocardium and pericardium. The former is the muscle of the heart and the latter is the outer covering sac of the heart. Blood or fluid accumulates in the pericardium. This situation will thwart the ventricles from expanding fully. As a result, the heart will not be able to adequately pump blood.
Pericarditis is oftentimes linked with cardiac tamponade. The former is a condition caused by viral or bacterial infections. Aside from pericarditis, heart surgery wounds to the heart, end-stage of lung cancer, dissecting aortic aneurysm and acute myocardial infarction can all lead to cardiac tamponade. Other possible causes are heart tumors, heart attack, radiation therapy to the chest, systemic lupus erythematosus, hypothyroidism and the likes.
Tamponade can be fatal. However, if treated promptly it can be cured. Nonetheless, there is still a possibility of its recurrence. That is how life-threatening this cardio illness can be.
Tamponade is also rampant. In fact, 2 out of 10,000 persons are affected by this malady.
If you are experiencing any of the symptoms of cardiac tamponade like restlessness, anxiety, discomfort, fainting, chest pain, palpitations, difficulty in breathing, rapid breathing, skin pale, drowsiness, weak pulse and low blood pressure, consult your physician immediately. He will make certain whether you have a serious cardio illness or not. Cardiac tamponade needs immediate medical attention. Hence, visit your doctor regularly so that illness may not develop into a fatal one. That way it can also be prevented or cured just in the nick of time.
There are no specific cardio tests to diagnose tamponade however, echocardiogram can aid to establish the diagnosis. ECG can also be resorted to note the changes in the body’s wave forms. Also, the physician may require 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, pericardiocentesis may be necessary. This is a process of draining the fluid around the cardio. Another alternative is cutting or removing part of the pericardium.
In a lot of cases, cardiac tamponade is not preventable. Thus, knowledge about it may increase awareness in connection to its causes, risk factors and treatment.
Still, the best prevention is to live a healthy and sound lifestyle. Exercises like aerobics, cardio kickboxing, karate, walking are goof for your heart. Yoga and other forms of meditations are also good in stabilizing your cardio. Also watch your diet. It is one of the factors why you are frail and susceptible to diseases.
Cardio exercises plus healthy lifestyle and good diet is the formula for a healthy beating heart.
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