Surgical repair of acute postinfarction cardiac rupture.

Acute myocardial infarction is complicated by cardiac rupture in 4% to 24% of all infarction deaths, and approximately 10% of hospital infarction deaths. There are no reliable indices to determine which patients run an increased risk of cardiac rupture. This report describes the surgical treatment and outcome of a patient who sustained a rupture of the left ventricular free wall, nine days after extensive anterior myocardial infarction.