J Korean Rheum Assoc.
2000 Jun;7(2):153-157.
A Case of Cardiac Tamponade in a Patient with Rheumatoid Arthritis
- Affiliations
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- 1Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, Inha University, Inchon, Korea.
Abstract
- Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic systemic inflammatory disease characterized by symmetric polyarthritis. RA may cause cardiac diseases by various mechanisms. Pericarditis is the most common cardiac manifestation of RA and has been found in 11~50% of autopsies of patients with RA. However only a few patients have clinical evidence of pericarditis which usually follows a benign course but it may progress to cardiac tamponade or constrictive pericarditis rarely. We experienced a case of cardiac tamponade in a 63-year-old patient with RA whose pericardial fluid analysis suggested rheumatoid pericarditis. He was successfully treated with pericardiocentesis and antirheumatic medication. This is the first case report of cardiac tamponade occurring as a complication of RA in Korea as far as we know.
