Lack of significant long-term sequelae following traumatic myocardial contusion.

We assessed the possibility of long-term functional cardiac sequelae in patients who had sustained a traumatic myocardial contusion (group 1) by comparing this group with a cohort group of patients with similar traumatic injuries but exclusive of the cardiac component (group 2). More than one year following injury, patients in group 1 were qualitatively indistinguishable from patients in group 2 according to the New York Heart Association classification. Both the left and the right ventricular ejection fractions, less in group 1 than in group 2 immediately following trauma, were similar between groups during follow-up study at rest. During exercise to maximal work load at follow-up, changes in the mean right and left ventricular ejection fractions were also similar between the two patient groups. We therefore concluded that traumatic myocardial contusion to the left and/or right ventricle almost always resolves without significant functional sequelae within one year of injury.