[Noninvasive methods in the diagnosis of post-infarction false aneurysm. Apropos of a case]

A case of post-aneurysm detected by chance in an asymptomatic 41 year old man, 3 months after acute infarction, and managed by surgery is reported. Although the aneurysm was too small to cause chest X-Ray changes, the parietal defect was clearly defined by isotopic angioscintigraphy, CAT scanning and M-mode echocardiography. The features of pseudo-aneurysms on CAT scanning are discussed. The value of M-mode echocardiography is confirmed, it alone giving the precise diagnosis through the demonstration of one dynamic sign: systolic expansion of the aneurysmal pocket on a tracing more suggestive of a localised pericardial effusion than of ventricular aneurysm. Early diagnosis by these non-invasive methods of investigation, requested as a result of some initial clinical abnormality, confirmed by angiography, may benefit some patients as the risk of secondary rupture may be avoided by surgical cure. The rarity of this condition is also under question due to the increasing number of reported cases.