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Focused assessment with sonography in trauma (commonly abbreviated as FAST) is a rapid bedside ultrasound examination performed by surgeons, emergency physicians, and paramedics as a screening test for blood around the heart (pericardial effusion) or abdominal organs (hemoperitoneum) after trauma.
The posterior fat pad is normally pressed in the olecranon fossa by the triceps tendon, and hence invisible on lateral radiograph of the elbow. [3] When there is a fracture of the distal humerus, or other pathology involving the elbow joint, inflammation develops around the synovial membrane forcing the fat pad out of its normal physiologic resting place.
Patients with pericardial effusion may have unremarkable physical exams but often present with tachycardia, distant heart sounds and tachypnea. [5] A physical finding specific to pericardial effusion is dullness to percussion, bronchial breath sounds and egophony over the inferior angle of the left scapula.
A physician may recommend cardiac imaging to support a diagnosis of a heart condition. Medical specialty professional organizations discourage the use of routine cardiac imaging during pre-operative assessment for patients about to undergo low or mid-risk non-cardiac surgery because the procedure carries risks and is unlikely to result in the change of a patient's management. [1]
Small pericardial cyst circled on chest x-ray (left) and chest CT scan (right). A pericardial cyst is an uncommon benign dilatation of the pericardial sac surrounding the heart.
The pericardium (pl.: pericardia), also called pericardial sac, is a double-walled sac containing the heart and the roots of the great vessels. [1] It has two layers, an outer layer made of strong inelastic connective tissue (fibrous pericardium), and an inner layer made of serous membrane (serous pericardium).
In patients with ischemic heart disease there is an accumulation of angiogenic growth factors in the pericardial fluid. These contribute to angiogenesis (the formation of new blood vessels) and arteriogenesis (the increase in diameter of existing arterioles).
A first test to be taken is an exercise stress test which shows if the heart is not getting blood during exertion. Angiograms may be useful and conclusive when microvascular angina they offer a detailed image of the heart. However, they cannot detect potential abnormalities in the small arteries, and the doctor may ask for more tests in order ...