Echocardiography in acute myocardial infarction.

Echocardiography has recently gained increasing popularity as a noninvasive technique to assess left ventricular function and regional wall motion in acute myocardial infarction. Detection of regional dyssynergy is possible in over 90 per cent of patients with acute infarction, allowing assessment of site and extent of involvement. Estimates of severity of left ventricular dysfunction on admission into the coronary care unit allow stratification of patients into risk categories in terms of acute and long-term prognosis. Complications of myocardial infarction such as right ventricular infarction, ventricular septal rupture, papillary muscle rupture, papillary muscle dysfunction, formation of mural thrombi, ventricular aneurysms, and pericardial effusion can be diagnosed echocardiographically at the bedside. This article discusses these applications as well as some of the limitations of echocardiography in the setting of acute myocardial infarction.