Deferred Closure in the Successful Treatment of Post-Infarction Ventricular Septal Rupture

Ventricular septal rupture is a rare but highly lethal mechanical complication of acute myocardial infarction. The gold-standard treatment is surgical repair; with conservative treatment, 90% mortality is estimated in the following two months. We present the case of an 81-year-old patient with post-infarction SVR who underwent angioplasty and was later admitted to the intensive care unit to assess hemodynamics to prepare him for delayed closure. Surgical repair of the defect was performed 21 days later, and the patient was discharged to the cardiovascular intensive care unit with adequate postoperative evolution.