Tricuspid annular respirophasic velocities in imminent tamponade.

A 57 year old woman, with newly diagnosed lung cancer and a large pericardial effusion in her echocardiogram, is presented in this case. No clinical or echocardiographic signs of tamponade physiology were initially detected. However, an excessive tricuspid annular respiratory fluctuation of the early diastolic velocity was noticed, which heralded the manifestation of overt tamponade on day 5.