Blunt cardiac injury in the hemodynamically stable patient.

Blunt cardiac injury (BCI) describes a spectrum of problems including severe, potentially life-threatening injuries from trauma. Pericardial effusion is an example of a BCI that has generally been assumed to imply serious underlying injury to the heart and should be considered hemopericardium until proven otherwise. A standard of care has been established to screen for BCI and treat hemodynamically unstable patients with an acute pericardial effusion presumably related to BCI.