State of the Art Imaging Review of Blunt and Penetrating Cardiac Trauma

Abstract

Traumatic cardiovascular injuries are only second to the central nervous system injuries as a cause of death in young adult population. Multidetector computed tomography is the gold standard diagnostic modality in patients with blunt or penetrating chest trauma and clinical suspicion of cardiac injury. The imaging spectrum of cardiac injuries includes but not limits to pericardial rupture, myocardial contusions, valve rupture, coronary artery injuries, cardiac herniations, and cardiac tamponade. In this review article, we discuss clinical presentation, types, and mechanism of cardiac trauma with emphasis on the imaging findings and illustrations in blunt, penetrating traumatic, and iatrogenic cardiac injuries.

Keywords: aortic injury; blunt cardiac trauma; coronary artery injury; iatrogenic cardiac trauma; multidetector computed tomography (MDCT); penetrating cardiac trauma; pericardial/myocardial injury; pulmonary artery injury.