title: Cardiac Pseudoaneurysm- A Death Defying Entity.
abstract: A pseudoaneurysm refers to a contained rupture of the myocardium with a tenuous pericardium walling off the leak. It needs to be differentiated from a true aneurysm by the fact that there is lack of myocardial tissue in the wall of a pseudoaneurysm. The differentiation between the two is pertinent as true aneurysms can be treated medically while pseudoaneurysms require urgent surgical treatment. Untreated pseudoaneurysms carry a high risk of rupture and mortality. We report a case of cardiac pseudoaneurysm developing in a 46-year-old male who had suffered myocardial infarction four months back. The patient now presented with chest pain and dyspnoea. CECT chest revealed a partially thrombosed large pseudoaneurysm arising from the posterior wall of left ventricle. While the clinical diagnosis of this entity is difficult, CECT plays a pivotal role in the non-invasive detection of pseudoaneurysms.
authors: Associate Professor, Department of Radiodiagnosis, Government Medical College , Patiala, Punjab, India .
authors: Manoj
authors: M
authors: Mathur
authors: Assistant Professor, Department of Radiodiagnosis, Government Medical College , Patiala, Punjab, India .
authors: Saryu
authors: S
authors: Gupta
keywords: Free wall rupture; Myocardial infarction; True aneurysm