# Surgical Treatment of Postinfarction Ventricular Septal Rupture

## TL;DR

Surgery for a heart condition called ventricular septal rupture after a heart attack has a high early death rate, and this hasn't improved in 20 years.

## Contribution

A large international multicenter study reveals persistent high mortality and identifies risk factors for early death after surgical treatment of postinfarction ventricular septal rupture.

## Key findings

- Early mortality rate after surgery for postinfarction ventricular septal rupture was 40.4% and did not improve over 20 years.
- Older age, preoperative cardiac arrest, and postoperative need for mechanical support were independently associated with higher mortality.
- Delayed surgery was linked to better survival, suggesting potential benefits of tailored preoperative and perioperative management.

## Abstract

What are the early outcomes of surgical treatment of postinfarction ventricular septal rupture?

In this cohort study of 475 patients from 26 different centers worldwide, the early mortality rate for surgically treated ventricular septal rupture was 40.4%, mostly due to low cardiac output, and it did not improve in the last 2 decades.

The findings of this study suggest that patient-tailored preoperative and perioperative management of postinfarction ventricular septal rupture should be addressed to improve the current suboptimal survival rates.

This cohort study assesses the clinical characteristics and early outcomes for patients who received surgery for postinfarction ventricular septal rupture and identifies factors independently associated with mortality.

Ventricular septal rupture (VSR) is a rare but life-threatening mechanical complication of acute myocardial infarction associated with high mortality despite prompt treatment. Surgery represents the standard of care; however, only small single-center series or national registries are usually available in literature, whereas international multicenter investigations have been poorly carried out, therefore limiting the evidence on this topic.

To assess the clinical characteristics and early outcomes for patients who received surgery for postinfarction VSR and to identify factors independently associated with mortality.

The Mechanical Complications of Acute Myocardial Infarction: an International Multicenter Cohort (CAUTION) Study is a retrospective multicenter international cohort study that includes patients who were treated surgically for mechanical complications of acute myocardial infarction. The study was conducted from January 2001 to December 2019 at 26 different centers worldwide among 475 consecutive patients who underwent surgery for postinfarction VSR.

Surgical treatment of postinfarction VSR, independent of the technique, alone or combined with other procedures (eg, coronary artery bypass grafting).

The primary outcome was early mortality; secondary outcomes were postoperative complications.

Of the 475 patients included in the study, 290 (61.1%) were men, with a mean (SD) age of 68.5 (10.1) years. Cardiogenic shock was present in 213 patients (44.8%). Emergent or salvage surgery was performed in 212 cases (44.6%). The early mortality rate was 40.4% (192 patients), and it did not improve during the nearly 20 years considered for the study (median [IQR] yearly mortality, 41.7% [32.6%-50.0%]). Low cardiac output syndrome and multiorgan failure were the most common causes of death (low cardiac output syndrome, 70 [36.5%]; multiorgan failure, 53 [27.6%]). Recurrent VSR occurred in 59 participants (12.4%) but was not associated with mortality. Cardiogenic shock (survived: 95 [33.6%]; died, 118 [61.5%]; P < .001) and early surgery (time to surgery ≥7 days, survived: 105 [57.4%]; died, 47 [35.1%]; P < .001) were associated with lower survival. At multivariate analysis, older age (odds ratio [OR], 1.05; 95% CI, 1.02-1.08; P = .001), preoperative cardiac arrest (OR, 2.71; 95% CI, 1.18-6.27; P = .02) and percutaneous revascularization (OR, 1.63; 95% CI, 1.003-2.65; P = .048), and postoperative need for intra-aortic balloon pump (OR, 2.98; 95% CI, 1.46-6.09; P = .003) and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (OR, 3.19; 95% CI, 1.30-7.38; P = .01) were independently associated with mortality.

In this study, surgical repair of postinfarction VSR was associated with a high risk of early mortality; this risk has remained unchanged during the last 2 decades. Delayed surgery seemed associated with better survival. Age, preoperative cardiac arrest and percutaneous revascularization, and postoperative need for intra-aortic balloon pump and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation were independently associated with early mortality. Further prospective studies addressing preoperative and perioperative patient management are warranted to hopefully improve the currently suboptimal outcome.