JasonEMT

Welcome to the City!

No need for a thrashing.

Hemothorax is the accumulation of blood in the pleural space due to internal hemorrhage which is associated with rib fractures as well as laceration of the intercostal arteries, pulmonary arteries, great vessels, or the internal mammary arteries.

A Pericardial Tamponade is when there is excess fluid that accumulates inside the pericardium. When this happens the excess fluid causes an increase in intrapericardial pressure that impairs diastolic filling and decreases the amount of blood the ventricles can expel with each contraction.

If anybody can explain it better please do so.

Brian

Very clear. Thanks for the info, and the welcome.

Welcome to the city!

So you are talking about a self inflicted cardiac tamponade?

Forgive my ignorance as I just completed my EMT class last week but I have a question. Is a hemothorax and a cardiac tamponade the same? I thought a hemothorax was when fluid invaded the plural space and caused pressure that kept the lung(s) from being able to inflate, and a tamponade was a build up of fluid in the pericardium? Keep in mind I'm a newbie, so don't thrash me too hard...