Cardiac Tapenade

Cardiac Tapenade

Cardiac tapenade is a condition of the heart that occurs when the fluid in the body or blood builds up in the spaces between the heart muscles and the outer covering sac of the heart. This topic was selected because this condition is on the increase in the recent times. The awareness and education of this condition is therefore important and necessary.

What are the causes of Cardiac Tapenade?

This condition is caused by blood and liquid collection in the heart vessels. This blockage prevents the ventricles from fully expanding. Cardiac tapenade can occur because of a number of reasons. These reasons include: acute heart attack, heart surgery, lung cancer that is in the last stages, pericaditis which is caused by infections, heart tumors, kidney failures, radiation therapies mostly to the chest, the placement of central lines, recent open heart surgery hypothyroidism among many other underlying causes of the cardiac tapenade. (Uramo, 2010)This condition is caused by acute and some moderate underlying conditions and can cause excessive damage the heart and the heart ventricles.

Symptoms of Cardiac Tapenade

Many symptoms are associated with this condition. However, not all the symptoms point directly to the cardiac tapenade. This is because some symptoms are very mild and most people do not associate it with this condition. Some of the symptoms include; anxiety, restlessness, chest pains, difficulty in breathing, discomfort, fainting, the person becomes pale and grayish, rapid breathing, swelling of the abdomen and many other such symptoms. It is important to note that some symptoms such as the chest pains can radiate from the back, to the shoulder and top the abdomen. (Carrey, 2008)  This chest pains can also be sharp, stabbing and are made worse by instant coughing or deep breathing. Other symptoms include dizziness, weakness, low blood pressure and a very weak pulse and sometimes there is no pulse at all.

After a person detects or suspects that they have this disorder due to the symptoms, the next step is to get tested for the same. However, there are no specific tests to test this disorder. An echocardiogram can be used to help establish if the person is suffering form this condition or not. The diagnosis is established if the blood pressure falls when the person inhales deeply, if the person is breathing rapidly, if the heart rates occur above the normal beats per minute, if the person’s neck veins are abnormally extended, or if the person’s peripheral is weak. Other tests that could be carried out include tests such as chest X rays, Coronary angiography, chest CT and EGC tests among many others that are not mentioned. (Grimm, 2008)  

The Treatment of the Cardiac Tapenade

It is important to note that the cardiac tapenade is a very serious condition that requires immediate hospitalization. In some cases delayed hospitalization has cause death and other serious damage. The first step to getting treatment is to get hospitalized. At the hospital, the treatment involves the draining of the fluids or the blood from the heart vessels. This is done through a procedure known as pericardiocentesis. This procedure uses a needle to remove fluid or blood from the pericardio sac and other heart tissues. (Gold, 2008) This procedure can also be done surgically. After the procedure, the patient is given medication. The medication is very important because it helps to increase the patients’ blood pressure, increase the patients’ blood pressure, and sustain the patient for the period the blood is drained.

The patient is also put on oxygen. This is because helps to reduce the work load in the heart. It is also important to note that often times the expectations or prognosis of this condition is life threatening if it is not treated or if it is treated late. On other occasions, this condition may cause heart failure, pulmonary edema, or death. In this regard, any time a person experience the slightest symptoms, they should visit a health care giver or a clinic for testing and treatment. If aggressive treatment is offered immediately, then no complications could arise. However, is treatment is not taken immediately many? Complications may arise. These complications include; the person suffering from the disorder may go into shock, the person’s heart may fail, the person’s blood vessel could rapture, arrhythmia may occur, aneurism may also occur, carditis and embolism may also occur.

It is very important to note that cardiac tapenade can be acute or sub acute. This means that it can be less serious or very serious. Cardiac tapenade causes constrictive pericarditis. Constrictive pericarditis is because of loss of elasticity in the pericarditis sac. In simply terms, Cardiac tapenade is a heart condition that is very serious in nature. Its symptoms are not easy to identify or point at apart from the acute symptoms and causes such as a heart attack, kidney failure among many other. (Grimm, 2008) In this case, immediately this disorder is discovered, immediate treatment is necessary. After the treatment, the person should take the prescribed medication without fail and follow all the doctors’ instruction.

This will ensure that the person recovers completely and fast from the disorder. This means that cardiac tapenade can be identified from its symptoms, diagnosed and treated successfully. Therefore, panic should not be the first reaction when one is diagnosed with this condition.

Conclusion

Cardiac tapenade is a condition of the heart that is caused by other underlying conditions such as kidney failures, heart attacks among many others. The most important t aspect about this condition is that it is treatable. However, it is only treatable if the patient is taken to hospital in good time before more damage is done.