title: Adjuvant Role of CT in the Diagnosis of Post-Infarction Left Ventricular Free-Wall Rupture.
abstract: Left ventricular free wall rupture is usually a catastrophic mechanical complication of myocardial infarction. Risk factors include advanced age, female gender and absence of prior infarction. The vast majority of patients succumb rapidly due to cardiac tamponade and electromechanical dissociation. Expedited and accurate diagnosis can improve the chances of survival. Echocardiography has been advocated as the gold standard for diagnosis, but other imaging modalities can provide valuable information in these patients. We present the case of a patient who presented with cardiogenic shock, in which the definitive diagnosis of a left ventricular free wall rupture was accomplished by CT scan with intravenous contrast.
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiovascular Diseases, Mayo Clinic, Rochester MN, USA.
authors.forename: Jorge A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Brenes
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Hennepin County Medical Center, Minneapolis, MN, USA.
authors.forename: Terry
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Keifer
authors.affiliation: Divsion of Cardiovascular Diseases, Hennepin County Medical Center, Minneapolis, MN, USA.
authors.forename: Rehan M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Karim
authors.affiliation: Divsion of Cardiovascular Diseases, Hennepin County Medical Center, Minneapolis, MN, USA.
authors.forename: Gautam R
authors.initials: GR
authors.lastname: Shroff
keywords: Computed tomography; Myocardial infarction; Shock; Ventricular rupture