Overview

What is pericardial effusion?

Pericardial effusion is sometimes referred to as "fluid around the heart." It is an abnormal fluid accumulation within the pericardial sac surrounding your heart.

A small amount of fluid typically separates your heart and the pericardium. This fluid partly protects your heart.

However, if, due to chest trauma, you experience some bleeding or any infection or injury that makes your heart inflamed, there may be surplus fluid accumulated inside the pericardium. In this case, your heart might find it more challenging to pump blood throughout the body.

Pericardial effusion can be fatal if immediate, proper treatment is not given; even heart failure may occur due to this condition.

What are the symptoms of pericardial effusion?

You may not even realize you suffer from it because fluid around the heart can accumulate over time and lead to absolutely no signs at all. So, please visit a doctor right away when you start noticing some symptoms since pericardial effusion can deteriorate, which can lead to posing a life-threatening danger to you.

Fluid around the heart leads to any of the following symptoms:

Dizziness or syncope
Nausea or feeling of fullness in the abdominal region
Painful breathing
Tachycardia
Dyspnea

What are the causes of pericardial effusion?

This medical condition, pericardial effusion, is caused by inflammation of the pericardium due to a disease or injury. It is induced by certain drugs, poisons, bacteria, fungi, viruses, parasites, and wastes in the blood as a complication of kidney failure, autoimmune diseases, cancer metastasis, radiation therapy, chest trauma, myocardial infarction, or cardiac surgery.

The cause may be known or unknown. The disease could be due to cancer, radiation therapy, autoimmune diseases, and an underactive thyroid, suffering from chest trauma, drug abuse, poisons, and infections by bacteria, fungi, viruses, or parasites, as well as waste products in the blood due to renal failure.

What are the diagnoses and treatments for pericardial effusion?

Your doctor will conclude you are suffering from pericardial effusion if your medical history, test results, and physical examination conducted by the doctor who conducted it, combined with the symptoms you describe, support such a conclusion.

When the patient is asymptomatic, a doctor most commonly diagnoses pericardial effusion by observation of the condition based on requested medical photos. For instance, it may appear on a chest X-ray that you are issued after an accident.

If they suspect a pericardial effusion, they require various tests by the doctor:

The doctor might call for an electrocardiogram, which is a checkup of your electrical heart activity. They could demand imaging tests such as these:

Echocardiography or ECG
Chest radiography or 2D Echo
A chest scan using a CT
The MRI of your heart.

Your doctor may recommend research center tests to identify the cause of your pericardial effusion. Some of the possible tests include the following:

CBC (complete blood count)
Troponin.
Peptide natriuretic of B type.
Thyroid hormones' stimulants.
Checking the immune system (to identify issues with the immune system or inflammatory diseases).

Your doctor may sometimes see the fluid taken from your pericardium. In some cases, these findings may sometimes help diagnose what caused the effusion.

What does the treatment of pericardial effusion entail?

This will depend on how well the pericardial effusion is controlled and how severe the side effects are.

Our specialists professionally treat both your heart and overall health. After talking over all of your options and listening to your story, we will work with you in choosing the best way to treat your pericardial effusion.

Drug therapy, including antibiotics, diuretics, and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (ibuprofen or Motrin). Your doctor may order procedures to drain a pericardial effusion or stop more fluid accumulation if:

Medication is not considered a treatment for the pericardial effusion.
A large effusion, aside from causing symptoms, also increases the possibility of cardiac tamponade.
You have managed to squeeze your heart.

Surgical and drainage procedures to treat pericardial effusion include:

Fluid withdrawal (pericardiocentesis): To drain out the fluid, a medical practitioner uses a needle to puncture the pericardial area and then deploys a catheter—a thin-walled tube. Imaging tools, usually echocardiography, facilitate the procedure. The catheter is usually kept in place for a few days so that the pericardial space can be drained to avoid accumulation of additional fluid. The catheter is removed once the fluid has completely stopped draining and no more fluid is accumulating.
Open cardiac surgery: If the bleeding into the pericardium is due to recent heart surgery or other complicating situations, it may be a necessity to evacuate the pericardium and repair any damage. At times, a surgeon will create an opening that allows fluid to leak into the abdominal cavity as needed so that it can be absorbed there.
Pericardiectomy, or removal of the pericardium: After the use of drainage procedures, a doctor may recommend fully or partially removing the pericardium if pericardial effusions remain.

Is it possible to avoid pericardial effusion?

Given that pericardial effusion is uncontrollable, it can often not be avoided. You can minimize your risk indirectly by avoiding situations that may lead to it, such as:

Allowing an infection to worsen without consulting a doctor.
Engagement in outdoor or sport-related activities poses a higher risk for injury when one does not take any precautions, such as wearing protective gear.

Living With

What is happening with/inside my body?

If you have a cardiac effusion, it is always important to watch out for symptoms or changes in your general health. You are also expected to follow your doctor's instructions concerning drugs and healing monitoring.

Why Tender Palm Super-Speciality Hospital for Pericardial Effusion?

Tender Palm Hospital has the most experienced team of Cardiologists, Cardiac Surgeons, and diagnostics with the latest and International standard infection control measures in Lucknow, India. The Cardiac Science Centre team has decades of experience in successfully treating Pericardial Effusion.