title: Myocardial rupture. Your patient's survival may depend on you.
abstract: Myocardial rupture is the second leading cause of in-hospital death from acute myocardial infarction. It is most likely to occur in the elderly, women, and patients with transmural infarction and no previous history of angina. A high index of suspicion is critical to the diagnosis. Myocardial rupture should be suspected when recurrent chest pain or hemodynamic instability develops after myocardial infarction. Rapid intervention and appropriate infarct-limiting therapy may reduce the mortality rate of this catastrophic complication.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Baptist Hospital, Nashville, Tennessee.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Stout
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ferrell
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Wray
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Mayes
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D006341:Heart Rupture / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009203:Myocardial Infarction / Q000150:complications*; D012307:Risk Factors