title: Cardiac tamponade caused by acute spontaneous coronary artery rupture.
abstract: Acute spontaneous coronary artery rupture is rare and the diagnosis might be missed due to high risk of mors subita. We present three patients hospitalized with signs of cardiac tamponade due to acute spontaneous coronary artery rupture. All the three were successfully operated with evacuation of the pericardial hematoma, identification of the bleeding site, and hemostasis. The patients were examined with coronary angiography and computer tomography, and no underlying cause of the rupture was detected. In patients presenting with cardiac tamponade, acute spontaneous coronary artery rupture is a possible diagnosis.
authors: Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Heart and Lung Center, Ullevål University Hospital, 0407 Oslo, Norway. m.l.kaljusto@medisin.uio.no
authors: Mari-Liis
authors: ML
authors: Kaljusto
authors: Stein
authors: S
authors: Koldsland
authors: Oystein Arild
authors: OA
authors: Vengen
authors: Per Reidar
authors: PR
authors: Woldbaek
authors: Theis
authors: T
authors: Tønnessen