Case 1
Case 1
A 46 year old male diagnosed with Kahler's disease, complains of fast progressive dyspnea. Physical examination reveals tachcardia (140 beats per minute). Upon measuring his blood pressure the nurse notices a pulsus paradoxus of 30 mm Mercury. Further examination shows decreased lung sounds on the right and dampened percussion on his back on both sides.
You see the ECG which shows a tachcardia and a pulsus alternans, typical for pericarditis
The apical 4 chamber echocardiogram shows severe pericardial effusion and a swinging heart.
<flash>file=Swingingheart.swf |
An apical 4 chamber view of a swinging heart |
enlarge |
Continue to Case 2