Late cardiac tamponade: a potentially lethal complication of open-heart surgery.

Cardiac tamponade occurring late after open-heart surgery is a frequently fatal complication. Of the 13 cases previously reported in the literature, there were seven deaths. In this report, three additional patients with late cardiac tamponade successfully treated are presented. Postoperative anticoagulation with Coumadin appeared to contribute to this complication. Increased awareness of late cardiac tamponade allowing prompt recognition and immediate decompression of the pericardial sac should lower the high mortality rate previously associated with the condition.