Cardiac free wall rupture after acute myocardial infarction. Clinical and pathological analysis.

Clinical and pathological findings in 15 autopsy cases, 13 males and 2 females, confirming cardiac free wall rupture after AMI were reported. The incidence is 30.6% of all autopsy cases of AMI in Chinese PLA General Hospital from 1958 to 1979. The ages ranged from 46 to 79 years, 10 being above 60 years. For 73.3% it was the first AMI and 66.7% of the patients had a history of hypertension. Thirteen of the 15 patients died within 5 days after the onset of AMI and another 2 within 7 days. When the cardiac rupture occurred, the ECG generally showed bradycardia, AV-junctional rhythm, III degrees AV block or isorhythmic ventricular rhythm and cardiac arrest. Both the gross and microscopic AMI were examined in 13 cases. All of them had a septal infarct, but only 2 had an ECG diagnosis. Of the 6 patients with inferior MI on ECG, 5 had right and left coronary lesions worse than grade III. The effective prevention of cardiac rupture consists of early diagnosis, control of chest pain and vomiting, prevention or treatment of hypertension or hypotension and 1 to 2 weeks of bed rest after the onset of AMI.