A myocardial contusion, or cardiac contusion, is a bruise on your heart muscle. Common causes include car crashes and falls. Treatment depends on the complications that may happen after this blunt cardiac injury. Recovery depends on the severity of your injury, but most people make a full recovery.
A myocardial contusion, or blunt myocardial injury, is bruised heart muscle. This happens when something hits your chest hard but doesn’t go through your skin. Most of the time, a car crash is the cause.
Myocardial contusion, or cardiac contusion, can range from a little bruise that doesn’t cause problems to a more severe injury that makes your heart muscle unable to work well.
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Both of these conditions have similar symptoms, but they aren’t the same.
A myocardial contusion is a bruise that affects your heart muscle. Cardiac tamponade is a collection of fluid in the sac around your heart. This excess fluid puts pressure on your heart.
A blood test can tell you if you have a bruised heart.
A myocardial contusion can affect anyone. Examples include:
Myocardial contusion happens in up to 10% of people with a sternal fracture. A broken sternum (the vertical bone between your ribs) is rare.
Major blunt trauma to the chest injures the heart in just 15% of cases.
You may not have symptoms other than a fast heartbeat if your myocardial contusion is mild.
If your myocardial contusion is bad, it may feel like you’re having a heart attack.
Myocardial contusion symptoms may include:
Most of the time, an accident causes cardiac contusion.
Causes include:
A cardiac contusion diagnosis can be difficult. You can have a bad case of it without obvious signs of trauma on the outside of your chest.
Your healthcare provider will do a physical exam and tests.
If you have a myocardial contusion, they may find:
Tests for a myocardial contusion may include:
Healthcare providers don’t have a specific treatment plan for a myocardial contusion. However, they’ll watch you closely and treat any complications as they happen.
In the emergency department, you may receive:
If your blood test confirms that you have heart muscle damage, your provider will admit you to the hospital. They’ll keep checking your troponin I level by repeating the blood test at different times.
Complications of a cardiac contusion may include:
It can take weeks or months to recover from a myocardial contusion, depending on your situation and the severity of the injury.
If you develop heart failure after getting a myocardial contusion, your healthcare provider may ask you to eat foods that are low in salt.
Treatments and medicines you may need may be different from one person to another, depending on which complications you have. Your healthcare provider may give you:
Complications and side effects are different from one myocardial contusion treatment to another.
They may include:
Devices that help your heart pump should improve your situation right away. They physically assist with moving blood through your body.
Medicines can start working quickly if you get them through an IV.
To prevent a myocardial contusion, you need to avoid the accidents that can cause it.
Although you can’t prevent all accidents, you can:
Your healthcare provider will watch you closely for 24 to 48 hours. They’ll check your heart rhythm with an electrocardiogram (EKG) the entire time.
A cardiac contusion rarely causes major issues that last a long time. Abnormal heart rhythms from a myocardial contusion usually go away in 24 hours.
Most people with minor injuries and normal heart rhythms don’t develop complications. Usually, people with a mild cardiac contusion make a full recovery. If your contusion is bad, it can make you more likely to get heart failure or an abnormal heart rhythm.
You’ll need to give your body time to recover from your cardiac contusion. This may mean you can’t take part in your favorite sport for a while. Follow your healthcare provider’s instructions.
After any visit to the emergency room, you should follow up with your primary healthcare provider. You may be dealing with complications of cardiac contusion afterward instead of the bruised heart itself. You’ll need follow-up appointments with your provider if they’re treating complications of cardiac contusion.
Because some rare complications can happen later, you should see your provider three to six months after your injury.
A note from Cleveland Clinic
Because accidents happen without warning, they can leave you feeling rattled. You’re in good hands once emergency help arrives. Even if you don’t think you need to stay overnight for observation, it’s best to do it. Your healthcare provider will want to make sure you don’t have serious complications from your accident. After you leave the hospital, be sure to keep all follow-up appointments and continue taking any medicine your provider prescribed for you.
Last reviewed by a Cleveland Clinic medical professional on 05/27/2022.
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Cleveland Clinic is a non-profit academic medical center. Advertising on our site helps support our mission. We do not endorse non-Cleveland Clinic products or services. Policy