INTRODUCTION Cardiac ruptures following acute myocardial infarction include rupture of the left ventricle free-wall, ventricular septal defects, and papillary muscle rupture. Double myocardial rupture is a rare complication of acute myocardial infarction (0.3 %) and the report of such cases is exclusively limited to a small series of autopsy studies. CASE PRESENTATION In this report we presen...

BACKGROUND Cardiac rupture after acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is unpredictable and almost always fatal, so the present study reviewed all the clinical characteristics of patients with cardiac rupture to determine if its occurrence can be predicted. METHODS AND RESULTS The clinical characteristics of 1,296 consecutive AMI patients from January 1992 to February 2002 were retrospectively ev...

We report the case of a 41 years old woman who presented with massive bleeding after redo mitral valve replacement. A Left ventricular rupture, different from the three known types of wall rupture was hardly identified and controlled with extreme difficulty. The patient died eight days postoperatively due to disseminated intravascular coagulopathy. Retrospective analysis of the Echocardiograph...

BACKGROUND Left ventricular free wall rupture (LVFWR) is a dramatic complication after myocardial infarction. We present our mid-term clinical and echocardiographic results of LVFWR with an epicardial patch without cardiopulmonary bypass. METHODS From February 1993 to May 2001, 17 patients underwent surgery for LVFWR. The mean age+/-SD of 12 males and 5 females was 68+/-10 years. All patients...

RATIONALE Ventricular double rupture (VDR) is a rare but lethal mechanical complication of acute myocardial infarction (AMI). The early identification and timely treatment of VDR remain challenging problems. We present a case of AMI with VDR and briefly review the characteristics and prognosis of this life-threatening disease. PATIENT CONCERNS AND DIAGNOSES A 77-year-old male presented to our...

Left ventricular free wall rupture (LVFWR) is still an uncommon catastrophic complication after acute myocardial infarction (MI), and it is one of the most frequent causes of sudden cardiac death. Immediate surgical repair is the treatment of choice. When LVFWR presents acutely with tamponade and cardiogenic shock in emergency department, salvage with a good outcome is still possible by timely ...

O NE of the fatal complications of acute myocardial infaretion is rupture of the affected ventricular niyoeardium. The free wall of the left ventricle is the region usually involved, and sudden death occurs due to acute cardiac tamponade. Occasionally the interventricular septum is perforated, and the clinical signs are characteristic. Recognition of septal perforation may permit utilization of...