Sudden death due to cardiac tamponade

Cardiac tamponade is life-threatening, slow or rapid compression of the heart due to the pericardial accumulation of fluid, pus, blood, clots, or gas, as a result of effusion, trauma, or rupture of the heart. Ventricular free wall rupture is a catastrophic complication that occurs within 7 days, in 1-4% of patients with acute myocardial infarction. We present a case of an elderly female who presented clinically mimicking sudden onset of gastrointestinal problem was later found to have cardiac tamponade on autopsy.