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Blunt Trauma to the Heart and Great Vessels

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Operative Techniques and Recent Advances in Acute Care and Emergency Surgery

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Abstract

The purpose of this chapter is to review presentation, diagnosis, and treatment of the different forms of cardiac and great vessel injuries due to blunt chest trauma. After blunt chest trauma, there is a wide range of cardiac injuries including myocardial contusion, wall rupture, valvular disruptions, injury to the great vessels or the coronary arteries, pericardial involvement, and dysrhythmic complications. Cardiac contusion represents the most frequent injury to the heart after blunt chest trauma. While the more serious injuries are often very evident to the clinician on presentation, cardiac contusion may be particularly difficult to diagnose, and appropriate management may be delayed. Echocardiography is a noninvasive test fundamental for a correct diagnosis of cardiac contusion. Angio-CT in the emergency room in polytrauma patients with blunt chest trauma is the gold standard diagnostic test and can easily diagnose the most life-threatening injuries of the heart and great vessels that necessitate immediate cardiac surgery. We present here an algorithm for diagnosis and management of patients with suspected blunt cardiac injury.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Cardiac Surgery, IRCCS Fondazione Policlinico San Matteo, Pavia, Italy

    Antonino M. Grande

  2. Dipartimento di Emergenza Urgenza, ASST Grande Ospedale Metropolitano Niguarda, Milano, Italy

    Paolo Aseni

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  1. Antonino M. Grande
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Correspondence to Antonino M. Grande .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dipartimento di Emergenza Urgenza, ASST Grande Ospedale Metropolitano Niguarda, Milan, Milano, Italy

    Paolo Aseni

  2. School of Medicine, University of Milano-Bicocca, Niguarda Hospital, Milan, Milano, Italy

    Luciano De Carlis

  3. Department of Cardiac Surgery, IRCCS MultiMedica, Milan, Milano, Italy

    Alessandro Mazzola

  4. Department of Cardiac Surgery, IRCCS Fondazione Policlinico San Matteo, Pavia, Italy

    Antonino M. Grande

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Grande, A.M., Aseni, P. (2019). Blunt Trauma to the Heart and Great Vessels. In: Aseni, P., De Carlis, L., Mazzola, A., Grande, A.M. (eds) Operative Techniques and Recent Advances in Acute Care and Emergency Surgery. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-95114-0_21

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-95114-0_21

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-95113-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-95114-0

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