EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT 2-DIMENSIONAL ECHOCARDIOGRAPHY IN THE DIAGNOSIS OF NONTRAUMATIC CARDIAC RUPTURE

Myocardial rupture is a catastrophic complication of acute myocardial infarction that usually results in sudden death. If diagnosed quickly, patients with myocardial rupture may be salvaged. This report describ es the application of emergency department two-dimensional echocardiog raphy in the diagnosis of six cases of myocardial rupture over two yea rs. Each demonstrated a characteristic hemopericardium on limited sing le-window examination. These included four patients who met institutio nal guidelines for thrombolytic therapy. Three patients survived surgi cal repair, with two long-term survivors.