Introduction: Cardiac tamponade (CT) is a cardiovascular disease with
a high mortality rate. Objective: To determine the prevalence of nontraumatic CT and associated etiologies in an autopsy series. Methods: A
cross-sectional study was conducted from January 2015 to March 2018,
using data from 156 autopsies performed during this period at the Death
Verification Service of São Luís/MA. The presence of a volume equal to or
greater than 400 ml of blood in the pericardial sac defined the diagnosis
of CT. Results: 3754 autopsies were performed during the study period,
with a CT prevalence of 4.15%. The main causes of CT were aortic
aneurysm rupture (48.72%) and myocardial rupture secondary to acute
myocardial infarction (AMI) (51.28%). Conclusion: The prevalence
of non-traumatic CT was 4.15%, and myocardial rupture due to AMI
was the leading cause (51.28%). Additionally, there are significant
differences in age and presence of comorbidities among the CT causes,
highlighting the importance of clinical suspicion and early diagnosis to
reduce mortality associated with cardiac tamponade
