Jessica Adams, Shannon Overholt, Edward Descallar, Taryn Hoffman
{"title":"Post-Myocardial Infarction Left Ventricular Free Wall Rupture Diagnosed by POCUS.","authors":"Jessica Adams, Shannon Overholt, Edward Descallar, Taryn Hoffman","doi":"10.24908/pocusj.v11i01.19500","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>ST segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) is a common cause of death and disability in the United States. A rare, though highly morbid complication of STEMI is a rupture of the left ventricular free wall. Prompt recognition and action by emergency physicians is essential. This report describes a case of left ventricular free wall rupture in the setting of a STEMI, diagnosed by point of care ultrasound (POCUS) in the emergency department (ED).</p><p><strong>Case presentation: </strong>A 72-year-old man presented with severe chest pain and STEMI on his electrocardiogram (ECG), days after an untreated episode of chest pain. Cardiac POCUS revealed a complex pericardial effusion with partially clotted blood, which raised concern for a rupture of the left ventricular free wall.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Cardiac POCUS enabled providers to quickly recognize a complex pericardial effusion and cardiac tamponade in a patient presenting with a STEMI.</p>","PeriodicalId":74470,"journal":{"name":"POCUS journal","volume":"11 1","pages":"34-36"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0000,"publicationDate":"2026-04-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13161769/pdf/","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"POCUS journal","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.24908/pocusj.v11i01.19500","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2026/4/1 0:00:00","PubModel":"eCollection","JCR":"","JCRName":"","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Background: ST segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) is a common cause of death and disability in the United States. A rare, though highly morbid complication of STEMI is a rupture of the left ventricular free wall. Prompt recognition and action by emergency physicians is essential. This report describes a case of left ventricular free wall rupture in the setting of a STEMI, diagnosed by point of care ultrasound (POCUS) in the emergency department (ED).
Case presentation: A 72-year-old man presented with severe chest pain and STEMI on his electrocardiogram (ECG), days after an untreated episode of chest pain. Cardiac POCUS revealed a complex pericardial effusion with partially clotted blood, which raised concern for a rupture of the left ventricular free wall.
Conclusion: Cardiac POCUS enabled providers to quickly recognize a complex pericardial effusion and cardiac tamponade in a patient presenting with a STEMI.
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