[Echocardiography and mechanical complications of recent myocardial infarction]

The constantly advancing technology of echocardiography and its widespread usage in the intensive care unit has made it a routine examination in patients with acute myocardial infarction. It has become the reference method for diagnosis and monitoring of certain complications such as pericardial effusion, intra-ventricular thrombosis, ventricular aneurysm and mitral regurgitation. The echocardiographic description of these complications dates back to the 1980s during which prospective studies accurately described the principal abnormalities. These descriptions have not been much improved upon with the advent of new technology. On the other hand, the frequency of these complications assessed in an era when reperfusion by thrombolysis or primary angioplasty was much less common than today, has considerably decreased.