The role of color Doppler echocardiography in the diagnosis of ventricular septal rupture after acute myocardial infarction

This report presents exparience here with color Doppler echocardiography in the diagnosis of ventricular septal rupture after acute myocardial infarction in four patients. All four (five episodes of ventricular septal rupture) received right side cardiac catheterization which revealed significant O₂ saturation step up in the right ventricle. Left ventriculography was performed in two cases; both revealed the presence of ventricular septal defect. Pre-oparative color and/or Doppler echocardiographic examination in all four cases revealed the presence and location of ventricular septal rupture, later confirmed at the time of operation. In conclusion, color Doppler echocardiography is quite accurate in the diagnosis of ventricular septal rupture after acute myocardial infarction. If can also provide information regarding global and regional ventricular function, and can differentiate ventricular septal rupture from mitral regurgitation. Thus, if color Doppler echocardiography can successfully assist the diagnosis of ventricular septal rupture, the more invasive and potentially hazardous left ventriculography seems unnecessary.