Hemopericardium

Last revised by Ciléin Kearns on 22 Jan 2023

Hemopericardium refers to the presence of blood within the pericardial cavity, i.e. a sanguineous pericardial effusion. If enough blood enters the pericardial cavity, then a potentially fatal cardiac tamponade can occur. 

There is a very long list of causes 1,2 but some of the more common are:

  • pericardial effusion with a density >35 HU 4 or that of water 2,5

Cases and figures

  • Case 1: from aortic dissection
  • Case 2: from aortic dissection
  • Case 3: left ventricular pseudoaneurysm
  • Case 4: post-thrombolysis
  • Case 5: penetrating trauma, Oreo cookie sign
  • Case 6: pacemaker wire perforation of right atrium
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