Extrapericardial Tamponade After Blunt Trauma

Cardiac tamponade results from compression of the heart and great vessels. Mediastinal hematoma has been reported in association with cardiac tamponade in multiple settings, including nonaortic mediastinal hemorrhage from cervical spine fractures, aortic and carotid aneurysmal rupture, mediastinal penetrating trauma, and cardiac penetrating trauma. A few cases of blunt trauma to the anterior chest wall resulting in tamponade formation have been reported. We present a patient with an anterior mediastinal hematoma resulting from blunt chest trauma that caused extrapericardial cardiac tamponade due to bleeding from a branch of the left internal mammary artery after a motor vehicle collision.