A case of acute heart failure due to abrupt rupture of aortic aneurysm into pulmonary artery

SummaryAorto-pulmonary fistula caused by ruptured aortic aneurysm is rare and sometimes difficult to diagnose, resulting in progression of heart failure. We report a case of acute heart failure due to abrupt rupture of aortic aneurysm into the pulmonary artery. Although it is difficult to make an early diagnosis of aorto-pulmonary shunt, multi-detector computed tomography (MDCT) clearly detected this extracardiac shunt. Emergent surgical repair of aorto-pulmonary fistula was successfully achieved. MDCT is a useful modality to make an accurate diagnosis of extracardiac shunt and to decide the operative procedure non-invasively