Echocardiographic Diagnosis of Subacute Ventricular Wall Rupture Complicating Acute Myocardial Infarction

Rupture of ventricular wall is one of the most threatening complications of acute myocardial infarction. As a rule, it is rapidly lethal, and a precise diagnosis is seldom possible. On the contrary, in the so-called subacute ruptures (about one third of all cases), patients can survive for several hours, allowing time for diagnosis and immediate surgical intervention. We report here the case of one patient with subacute cardiac rupture who was diagnosed with echocardiography and successfully treated with pericardiocentesis and surgery.