Cardiac tamponade

This pattern of venous return in chronic constrictive pericarditis contrasts with that in cardiac tamponade, in which the venous pressure tracing shows absence of  diastolic y descent (i.e. there is a deep x descent but y descent is absent) . Cardiac tamponade also causes a raised JVP, Kussmaul’s sign and pulsus paradoxus.

Summary signs of cardiac tamponade are:

• rapid x descent

• Kussmaul’s sign

• pulsus paradoxus