Report on Rare Complication Post Silent Myocardial Infarction: Ventricular Septal Rupture. 2023

Luna Thapa, and Lucas Lemons
Emergency Department, West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine, Lewisburg, USA.

The advent of primary reperfusion therapy for the treatment of myocardial infarction (MI) has made mechanical complications rare. Mechanical complications include free wall rupture, papillary muscle rupture, left ventricular septal rupture, and more. In this case, we describe a 53-year-old patient who presented to the emergency department with complaints of shortness of breath, abdominal pain, urinary retention, and constipation. On exam, he was in mild distress and presented with jugular venous distension (JVD), bibasilar crackles, and diffuse abdominal pain with guarding. After a rapid hemodynamic decline and a transthoracic echocardiogram that displayed a new onset ventricular septal defect (VSD), it was determined that the patient had a ventricular septal rupture (VSR). Septal rupture is a cardiac emergency causing cardiogenic shock and carries a high mortality risk despite prompt surgical treatment; hence a high suspicion is warranted. Our patient presented with generalized symptoms, no previous cardiovascular history, and no reported myocardial infarctions or risk factors, leading to a low clinical index of suspicion for a VSR. This case highlights the importance of high clinical suspicion of ventricular septal rupture in a patient presenting with similar symptoms so prompt management can occur.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries

Related Publications

Luna Thapa, and Lucas Lemons
January 2022, Methodist DeBakey cardiovascular journal,
Luna Thapa, and Lucas Lemons
November 1989, Indiana medicine : the journal of the Indiana State Medical Association,
Luna Thapa, and Lucas Lemons
January 2003, The American heart hospital journal,
Luna Thapa, and Lucas Lemons
September 1999, The Journal of the Arkansas Medical Society,
Luna Thapa, and Lucas Lemons
May 2016, EuroIntervention : journal of EuroPCR in collaboration with the Working Group on Interventional Cardiology of the European Society of Cardiology,
Luna Thapa, and Lucas Lemons
August 2020, Cureus,
Luna Thapa, and Lucas Lemons
February 2019, Clinical case reports,
Luna Thapa, and Lucas Lemons
February 2013, Circulation. Cardiovascular interventions,
Luna Thapa, and Lucas Lemons
January 2011, Texas Heart Institute journal,
Copied contents to your clipboard!