What causes a cat's sudden death from air in the heart sac and lungs?

Question

Why did my cat pass away of pnuemopericardium during our travels? She started open mouth breathing 24 hours prior. Was put on oxygen, sedated by vet for radiogragh which showed pneumopericardium, she started screaming heavily and they rushed in saying it was bad and we consented for them to put her to sleep. Was it the elevation, stress or respitory infection that could have caused this rare condition of air in the heart sac and lungs? Why did this happen suddenly? How did this happen? Pet's info: Cat | Domestic Shorthair | Female | spayed | 14 lbs

Sara Farmer, DVM · Accepted Answer

This is indeed very rare - most often pneumopericardium is related to infection, cancer or trauma. I don't think the elevation or stress would cause pneumopericardium. Unfortunately there is no way to know why this happened - you might want to ask the vet about a necropsy (autopsy) if this happened recently. This might bring some closure.

What causes a cat's sudden death from air in the heart sac and lungs?

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