What is the clinical evidence from this study?

Study design: Case Report. Population: Acute myocardial infarction with myocardial rupture (n=3). Primary outcome: Percentage of AMI with myocardial rupture.

January 1, 2017Open Access

Rupture of the myocardium in autopsied MI hearts

Key Result

Anatomopathological review of autopsied hearts over 30 years identified 3 cases of myocardial rupture, representing 0.2% of acute myocardial infarction cases.

Study Design

Type

Case Report (n=3)

Structured PICO

P

Population

n=3 autopsied hearts with a diagnosis of cardiac rupture in acute myocardial infarction over the last 30 years

O

Outcome

Anatomopathological findings

Myocardial rupture is a rare but highly fatal complication of acute myocardial infarction, occurring in 0.2% of autopsied AMI cases over a 30-year period in this series.

Abstract

Although myocardial rupture occurs in only 2% to 4% of cases of acute myocardial infarction (AMI), there is a high mortality rate due to acute cardiogenic shock. We present the anatomopathological findings of three cases of myocardial rupture in autopsied hearts in the last 30 years, with a diagnosis of cardiac rupture in acute myocardial infarction. In these 30 years the percentage of AMI with myocardial rupture was 0.2%. Risk factors for post-AMI myocardial rupture include older age, atherosclerosis, diabetes mellitus and systemic arterial hypertension.