Traumatic cardiac tamponade is rare after blunt chest trauma, but is a life threatening condition. Echocardiography is the primary imaging modality for the diagnosis of cardiac tamponade. Cardiac tamponade treatment is based on the clinical presentation and may need a pericardiocentesis or surgical drainage. Cardiac tamponade after blunt chest trauma may trigger paradoxical right to left shunt in the patient with patent foramen ovale. We present a case of ischemic stroke that developed during treatment of a young cardiac tamponade patient after blunt chest trauma. (J Acute Care Surg 2014;4:85-90)
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