Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder After Cardiac Tamponade and Emergency Sternotomy: A First-Person Account in Prose and Musical Compositions of Autonomic Injury, Medical Trauma, and the Long Arc of Recovery
Abstract
Background: Life-threatening medical events increasingly are recognised not only as physiological crises but as existential ruptures. Post- traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) may follow myocardial infarction, intensive care admission, or emergency surgery; yet PTSD arising from cardiac procedural catastrophe remains under-examined within cardiology and surgical literature.
Case Narrative: This article presents a first-person account of PTSD following catheter ablation for left ventricular outflow tract premature ventricular contractions complicated by acute cardiac tamponade and emergency sternotomy (15 October 2021). Psychological symptoms emerged gradually and evolved alongside persistent autonomic dysfunction, including orthostatic hypotension, chronotropic impairment, gastrointestinal dysmotility, and reduced stress tolerance. Over four years, recovery unfolded through trauma-informed medical care, autonomic stabilisation, relational repair, and somatically attuned rehabilitation.
Discussion: This narrative argues that medical PTSD is not solely psychological but neurobiologically coherent. Catastrophic haemodynamic collapse may produce convergent autonomic, inflammatory, and fear-conditioning cascades that entangle body and memory. The case illustrates how iatrogenic crisis can fracture trust, how dysregulated physiology can perpetuate traumatic encoding, and how healing requires restoration of both bodily regulation and relational safety.
Conclusion: Survival marked the beginning rather than the end of recovery. Recognition of medical PTSD as a legitimate and embodied consequence of procedural catastrophe may reduce secondary harm and promote integrative care.