[Rupture of the free wall of the left ventricle during myocardial infarct. Contribution of echocardiography to its diagnosis. Surgical cure].

Parietal rupture of heart is one of the most dramatic complications in the acute stage of myocardial infarction. Generally it is fatal within few seconds or minutes. The authors report a case of rupture of the left ventricle into the free pericardial cavity, occurred at the 13th hour of an anterior infarction and surgically repaired with favourable result. On this occasion they emphasize the contribution of echocardiography to the diagnosis of cardiac rupture and the exceptional complexion of this case, which, to their best knowledge, is the third to have survived left ventricular rupture associated with ischemic heart disease, more than two months.