Mechanical and electrical complications of acute myocardial infarction.

Although much of the current enthusiasm in the management of acute myocardial infarction is related to revascularization strategies, mechanical and electrical complications continue to pose a major threat to recovery in some patients. Some of the major complications of acute myocardial infarction are cardiogenic shock, rupture of the free wall and pseudoaneurysm, rupture of the ventricular septum, acute mitral regurgitation, right ventricular myocardial infarction, infarct expansion or extension, pericarditis and tamponade, peri-infarction hypertension, and tachyarrhythmias and bradyarrhythmias. For each of these complications, general guidelines for diagnosis and management are offered. Early, aggressive, and judicious treatment of these complications may substantially decrease the morbidity and mortality associated with acute myocardial infarction.