Pericardial diseases Flashcards
Label the image
What are the three layers of the pericardium?
- Fibrous Pericardium
- Serous Parietal Pericardium
- Serous Visceral Pericardium
What is the pericardial/ epicardial fat?
Layer of fat anterior of the heart
What does the Pericardial/ epicardial fat do? What does it mimic? What does it look like on U/S?
- Protects heart from blunt force trauma
- May mimic pericardial effusion
- Echogenic
Pericardial cysts are usually what kind of finding?
Incidental
Where are percardial cysts found?
Adjacent to the RT heart
Pericardial cysts are better evaluated with what modality?
On CT/MR
What is a pericardial effusion?
Increased amount of fluid within the pericardial space
What is pericardial effusion usually caused by?
Irritation/ injury to pericardium
What is Tamponade?
Marked or fast increased in fluid accumulation
What does tamponade cause in terms of pressure?
Significant increase in intrapericardial pressure above intracardiac pressure, this compresses the heart and impairs its ability to fill
What is pericarditis?
Inflammation of the pericardial surfaces
What does pericarditis restrict?
Diastolic function
What are signs and symptoms of pericardial effusions? 3
- Chest pain (hurts more when patients lie flat)
- SOB/ Dyspnea
- Possible Tamponade/ constrictive pericarditis S/S
What does pericardial effusions look like on ECG?2
- Low voltage ECG (suggest large effusion)
- Electrical alternans
What is electrical alternans caused by?
Swinging heart
What does pericardial effusions look like on X-ray?
Enlarged cardiac silhouette or CXR
What is the role of echo with Pericardial effusion? 6
- Spatial orientation
- Potential collapse of cardiac chambers
- Differentiation of pleural fluid
- Size of effusion
- Clear space or echoes within fluids
- Pericardial thickness
What are two ways to describe Pericardial effusion?
- Location
- Chamber collapse
How do we see circumferential pericardial effusions? 3
- Use SAX to see all around the heart
- Fluids tend to be dependent (posteriorly at first)
- Fluid will extend to the AV groove, Anterior to DA
What does Loculated pericardial effusions look like?
May have separate areas of effusions separated by adhesions
In terms of loculated pericardial effusions, microbubbles are used to show what?
Localized high interpericardial pressure
What does pericardial effusions look like? 4 (where is it located)
- Anterior to descending aorta
- May sit anterior or posterior to the heart and can be circumferential
- Tapers at AV sulcus
- No respiratory change in size
What does Pleural effusions look like? 4
- Only posterior to heart
- Posterior to descending aorta
- Changes with respiration
- Does not cause RV or RA collapse
Label the image
What are the classification of pericardial effusions? 4
- Physiologic
- Mild
- Moderate
- Large
Are Trace effusions Normal or Abnormal?
Normal
What does this image identify?
Notice the difference in size between systole/ diastole on the M-mode trace
Where does pericardial effusions occur in M mode?
An anechoic space between epicardium and pericardium
When would we measure pericardial effusions?
Diastole
What does pericardial effusions look like on M-mode?
Posterior wall lifts off the pericardial boarder in Systole as PW contracts (PLAX/PSAX)
Measuring Pericardial effusions when leads to over estimates?
During systole
In terms of pericardial effusions long standing effusions may have what?
Fibrinous strands that can be seen by echo
What does this image demonstrate?
Pericardial effusion
What does this image demonstrate?
Pericardial effusion
What does this image demonstrate?
Thin vs thick pericardium