A 45-year-old man with a history of febrile illness and chest pain comes to the hospital with dyspnea and tachypnea. On physical examination his blood pressure is low, jugular venous pressure is elevated with a prominent descending sinus x and he has a paradoxical pulse. What diagnosis would you suspect?
It is the classic exploration: he had a fever and pain, he had pericarditis with effusion, and now this is causing tamponade. Hence the hypotension (his heart cannot fill well with blood and pump), jugular engorgement and dependence on respiration to achieve preload and cardiac output (i.e. paradoxical pulse).
Dilated cardiomyopathy.
Pericardial effusion with cardiac tamponade.
Constrictive pericarditis.
Ischemic heart disease.
he had a fever and pain, he had pericarditis with effusion, and now this is causing tamponade. Hence the hypotension (his heart cannot fill well with blood and pump), jugular engorgement and dependence on respiration to achieve preload and cardiac output (i.e. paradoxical pulse).