118: Cardiac Tamponade With Brian McCain

This week, we are talking about every cardiac nurse’s worst nightmare: cardiac tamponade. Host Sarah Lorenzini is joined by Brian McCain RN to share a crazy case of cardiac tamponade where quick intervention made all the difference. In this episode, they discuss the critical signs, symptoms and pathophysiology of cardiac tamponade.Brian and Sarah cover clinical findings like Beck’s triad and dampened arterial line waveforms, assessment techniques for patients who rapidly decline versus those with a gradual buildup of symptoms, and the nurse’s role in preparing patients for an open arrest.Tune in to learn how to recognize and manage this cardiac emergency! Topics discussed in this episode:What Brian loves about the nursing professionA classic case of cardiac tamponadePathophysiology of cardiac tamponadeThe clinical findings of cardiac tamponadeAssessment and diagnosis of cardiac tamponadeDifferentiating between cardiac tamponade and pericardial effusionPreparing the patient for an open arrestMentioned in this episode:AND If you are planning to sit for your CCRN and would like to take the Critical Care Academy CCRN prep course you can visit https://www.ccrnacademy.com and use coupon code RAPID10 to get 10% off the cost of the course!