Right ventricular involvement in acute myocardial infarction.

Involvement of the RV in AMI is not as rare as previously thought and may lead to a particular clinical and hemodynamic syndrome with raised RV filling pressures, hypotension and oliguria. Major extension to the RV from inferior LV infarctions can be recognized by ST segment elevations iead CR4R or V4R. The significance of anterior RV extension and of RV papillary muscle infarction is still largerly unknown. It has been suggested from autopsy studies that the prognosis of patients with RV involvement might be poor healed extensive RV infarction is rarely seen. Indeed, ST segment elevation in lead CR4R indicating RV involvement has been found to carry a poor short-term prognosis. An increased awareness of the possibility of impaired RV function and of the special therapeutic considerations in some of these patients may increase survival.