Cardiac trauma most commonly occurs after a motor vehicle accident, after a high fall, or after a crushing injury. The force directly damages the heart due to the maximal distension of the ventricular chambers during diastole, the indirect force causes a sudden increase in cardiac preload from the vena cava and extremity veins. The deceleration mechanism (due to inertia) can tear the heart valves, myocardium, and coronary arteries.

The heart plays a very important role in the human body, so even the smallest heart injury can be life-threatening. So how dangerous are heart injuries and how do you distinguish them from other injuries?

Blunt chest trauma is the most common type of injury resulting from motor vehicle crashes and is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in all age groups. The types of blunt chest trauma depend largely on the severity of the injury and can range from harmless to life-threatening.

Cardiac trauma is considered a serious injury with a high risk of death. In fact, cardiac trauma is very rare in clinical practice because most of the victims die soon after. Only some minor trauma or congestive heart failure have a chance of survival if they are taken to the emergency room in time.