Following acute myocardial infarction, ventricular septal defects occur in:

D. 2% or less.

DISCUSSION: Postmortem studies indicate that 8% to 10% of fatal cases of myocardial infarction are due to rupture of the heart. In addition, infarction of the interventricular septum with subsequent formation of a ventricular septal defect occurs in 1% to 2% of patients with acute myocardial infarction. The usual interval between the acute infarction and septal rupture—4 to 12 days—correlates with the histologic finding of maximal cardiac muscle degeneration.