Beck's triad (cardiology)

Beck's triad (cardiology)
Other names	acute tamponade triad
Hemopericardium, a possible cause of cardiac tamponade
Differential diagnosis	cardiac tamponade

Beck's triad is a collection of three medical signs associated with acute cardiac tamponade, a medical emergency when excessive fluid accumulates in the pericardial sac around the heart and impairs its ability to pump blood. The signs are low arterial blood pressure, distended neck veins, and distant, muffled heart sounds.^[1]

Narrowed pulse pressure might also be observed. The concept was developed in 1935 by Claude Beck, a resident and later Professor of Cardiovascular Surgery at Case Western Reserve University.^[2][3]