Abstract 13924: Impact of a Pandemic on Women Diagnosed With Peripartum Cardiomyopathy

Abstract

Background: Peripartum cardiomyopathy (PPCM) is a dilated form of cardiomyopathy that occurs during the last month of pregnancy or up to five months postpartum. Approximately 1,100 women develop PPCM in the United States each year. The aim of our study is to compare the incidence of PPCM prior to the start of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID) pandemic to afterwards and to determine the impact of COVID on hospitalized patients with PPCM. Methods: This was a retrospective study of 2,286 patients with a diagnosis of PPCM who were admitted to a private hospital system across the United States between the year 2017 and year 2021. There was 1,790 patients in the pre-COVID cohort, and 496 patients in the COVID era cohort. Demographics of patients were collected, with t-test and chi square p-values utilization for statistical description. Results: The mean age of women was 32.13 years. In the COVID era cohort, the percentage of Hispanic patients was significantly higher than the pre-COVID era (16.84% vs. 12.34%, p=0.012). In the COVID era, patients were more likely to have preeclampsia (20.16% vs. 13.52%, p<0.001), HELLP (hemolysis, elevated liver enzymes, low platelets) syndrome (2.62% vs. 0.61%, p<0.001), respiratory failure (19.56% vs. 10.57%, p<0.001), and myocardial infarction (3.63% vs. 1.90%, p=0.022). There was no significant difference in troponin and d-dimer values between the two era cohorts. The average length of stay, percentage of patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU), and death did not significantly differ between the pre-COVID and COVID era cohorts. Conclusion: In our study, although there was no significant difference in length of stay, ICU admission, or death in the COVID era cohort, myocardial infarction, preeclampsia, HELLP syndrome, and respiratory failure were each more prevalent in women with PPCM during the COVID era. These findings might indicate suboptimal access to outpatient and inpatient medical care during the COVID pandemic, which could have led to these more serious diagnoses.