Complications of Acute Myocardial Infarction

For the past 20 years, the in-hospital mortality rate of acute myocardial infarction has significantly decreased to less than 10%. This reduction can be attributed mainly to the development of acute-phase treatment such as reperfusion therapy. However, cardiogenic shock and cardiac rupture dominate more than 70% of the causes of death. CCUs have made efforts to treat these problems whose mortality rate is still high. For cardiogenic shock, maintenance of circulation followed by reperfusion therapy is necessary before it causes irreversible impairment of organ function. For cardiac rupture, a critical care system should be established to implement emergency surgical intervention following the early detection of cardiac tamponade, in addition to the emphasis on prevention in high-risk populations for cardiac rupture.