Postinfarction ventricular septal rupture: Transcatheter intervention or surgical repair?

Postinfarction ventricular septal rupture is an infrequent but potentially fatal complication of acute myocardial infarction. The 30-day mortality rate with the transcatheter approach when performed in the acute phase (<2 weeks) was 25.3% compared to 50% when surgery is performed in the acute phase (within 3 weeks). There is no correlation between defect size and mortality. New York Heart Association class IV and time to ventricular septal defect closure are risk predictors for transcatheter closure for a 30-day mortality rate of 31.5%.