Short term prognostic implication of right ventricular involvement in acute inferior myocardial infarction

ABSTRACT

Infarction of the right ventricular free [RVI] wall was drawing little attention till recent years. The incidence of right ventricular involvement in patients with inferior wall infarction varies from 25% to 50%. The importance of differentiating RVI as a separate entity is related not only to its characteristic diagnostic picture but also to its prognostic and therapeutic implications. The published data on the importance of right ventricular involvement-as an independant risk factor-for early morbidity and mortality in patients with acute inferior wall myocardial infarction has been few and inconsistent. In this work we examined 33 patients with acute inferior wall infarction 17 with clinical and/or ECG evidence of RV involvement and 16 without. We examine the incidence, extent and consequences of early-in hospital-complication in both groups in order to determine the short term prognostic implication of right ventricular involvement in patients suffering from acute inferior wall myocardial infarction. RVI group was found to be associated with a significantly higher incidence of inhospital early mortality, pulmonary embolism, complete heart block, atrial and ventricular arrhythmia, and a special form of pump failure that responded to inotropics and fluid therapy