Cardiac tamponade associated with an elevated arterial blood pressure.

A 30-year-old male presented with acute pericarditis and a moderate pericardial effusion. His condition deteriorated suddenly with a marked elevation in blood pressure. The hypertension was erroneously correlated with a low probability of cardiac tamponade, leading to a delay in performing an echocardiogram. The echocardiogram subsequently showed features of cardiac tamponade. Severe elevation of blood pressure in a patient with cardiac tamponade is a rare and under-recognized disorder. This condition is discussed here.