What happens in cardiac tamponade?

What happens in cardiac tamponade?

Inside your chest, your heart is contained within a sac called the pericardium. The pericardium has two layers and holds your heart in place, and it also contains pericardial fluid. The fluid helps cushion your heart from outside force and stress.

The chambers of your heart have to expand to fill up with blood before pumping blood out. Cardiac tamponade — which is sometimes called pericardial tamponade — happens when the pericardium fills with fluid (especially blood). Because the fluid has nowhere to go, your heart runs out of room and can’t expand enough to fill effectively.