LEFT-VENTRICULAR PSEUDOANEURYSM - A PATIENT REPORT AND DISCUSSION

Ventricular aneurysm formation is among the most common sequelae of my ocardial infarction, occurring in 12 to 15 percent of patients who sur vive,(1) and is characterized by dyskinetic systolic expansion of part of the ventricular wall. Most of these are true aneurysms in which th e wall is composed of fibrous tissue with residual myocardial elements . Once healed, these aneurysms rarely rupture,(2) and surgical excisio n is suggested only for clinical manifestations such as heart failure, ventricular arrhythmias, thromboemboli, or angina. Pseudoaneurysms re sult from localized myocardial rupture in which the hemorrhage is cont ained only by the pericardium. These aneurysms frequently rupture(2,3) and should be resected when the diagnosis is established. We report a patient diagnosed at the time of cardiac catheterization with two dis crete left ventricular pseudoaneurysms.