The American journal of cardiology
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Cardiac contusion is a potentially fatal complication of blunt chest trauma. The diagnosis is obscured because cardiac contusion usually occurs in a setting of multisystem trauma. Furthermore, the electrocardiographic changes are nonspecific. ⋯ Three patients had localized myocardial thinning, and segmental wall motion abnormalities occurred in 2. Additional abnormalities identified included ventricular thrombi (4 right and 1 left ventricular), fibrinous pericardial effusion (1), ruptured tricuspid chordae with flail leaflet (1), and a small aneurysm of the sinus of Valsalva (1). It is concluded that 2-dimensional echocardiography is useful for diagnosing cardiac contusion, for estimating the extent of myocardial damage, and for identifying accompanying cardiac lesions such as thrombi, pericardial effusion, and valvular disruption.