[Ultrasonic diagnosis of papillary muscle dysfunction in patients with acute myocardial infarct]

A study of 123 patients with acute myocardial infarction demonstrated the potentials of combined use of sectoral scanning and Doppler echocardiography in the diagnosis of the papillary muscle dysfunction syndrome. Two basic pathogenetic mechanisms of papillary muscle dysfunction associated with acute myocardial infarction are identified: direct involvement of the papillary muscles and papillary muscle dysfunction developing in cases of marked left-ventricular dilatation associated with acute aneurysm of the heart. Two-dimensional impulse Doppler echocardiography is found to be a more sensitive method, as compared to sectoral scanning, in the diagnosis of mitral lesions in patients with acute myocardial infarction.