Risk of cardiac rupture after acute myocardial infarction is related to a risk of hemorrhage

Although cardiac rupture (CR) is a fatal mechanical complication of acute myocardial infarction (AMI), to date no predictive model for CR has been described. CR has common pathological characteristics with major bleeding. We aimed to investigate the relationship between the risk factors of major bleeding and CR. A total of 10 202 consecutive AMI patients were recruited, and mechanical complications occurred in 72 patients. AMI patients without CR were chosen as control group. Clinical characteristics including bleeding-related factors were compared between the groups. The incidences of free wall rupture (FWR), ventricular septal rupture (VSR), and papillary muscle rupture (PMR) were 0.39%, 0.21%, and 0.09%, respectively, and the hospital mortalities were 92.5%, 45.5%, and 10.0%, respectively. Female proportion and average age were significantly higher in the groups of FWR and VSR than in the control group (P < 0.01); higher white blood cell count and lower hemoglobin were found in all CR groups (P < 0.01). Compared to the control group, patients with CR were more likely to receive an administration of thrombolysis [26.39% vs. 13.19%, P < 0.05], and were less likely to be treated with primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) [41.67% vs. 81.60%, P < 0.05]. The major bleeding scores (integer scores) of FWR, VSR, and PMR were (17.70 +/- 7.24), (21.91 +/- 8.33), and (18.60 +/- 7.88), respectively, and were significantly higher than that of the control group (11.72 +/- 7.71) (P < 0.05). A regression analysis identified age, increased heart rate, anemia, higher white blood cell count, and thrombolysis as independent risk factors of CR, most of which were major bleeding-related factors. The patients with CR have a significantly higher risk of hemorrhage compared to the group without CR. Risk of CR after AMI is related to the risk of hemorrhage.