Ventricular Septal Rupture after Acute Myocardial Infarction

When ventricular septal rupture complicates acute myocardial infarction, the mortality rate is high and immediate operative intervention is indicated. This review explains that septal rupture has become less common with reperfusion therapy but that rapid diagnosis remains crucial. Doppler echocardiography is usually diagnostic and can be used to estimate the size of the left-to-right shunt.