Abstract
In Europe, peripartum cardiomyopathy (PPCM) is a rare disorder, often difficult to diagnose and it has a variable clinical course. The aim of this report was to describe and discuss the individual variability of this disorder and its management. Three cases of PPCM manifesting as severe heart failure are compared. Common was the presence of myocardial inflammation detected by endomyocardial biopsy. Different were treatment methods and clinical course. Modern therapeutic concepts such as immunosuppressive therapy and bromocriptin administration are discussed, as well as non-pharmacological approaches. In the differential diagnostics of dyspnea associated with pregnancy and childbirth, PPCM should be considered. The potentially severe course of the disease requires hospitalization with the possibility of comprehensive heart failure treatment, including non-pharmacological approaches such as device therapy and heart transplantation.
Highlights
Peripartum cardiomyopathy (PPCM) is a disorder with no clear cause, characterized by systolic dysfunction of the left ventricle (LV) that appears toward the end of pregnancy or during the first months postpartum in women without any previous history of heart failure
This definition was published as a position statement of the Heart Failure Association of the European Society of Cardiology Working Group on peripartum cardiomyopathy in 2010, and is more general than some earlier definitions[1]
It is emphasized that PPCM is a diagnosis of exclusion and it is always necessary to exclude other possible causes of heart failure that may occur in the peripartum period
Summary
Peripartum cardiomyopathy (PPCM) is a disorder with no clear cause, characterized by systolic dysfunction of the left ventricle (LV) that appears toward the end of pregnancy or during the first months postpartum in women without any previous history of heart failure. This definition was published as a position statement of the Heart Failure Association of the European Society of Cardiology Working Group on peripartum cardiomyopathy in 2010, and is more general than some earlier definitions[1]. Different were treatment methods and clinical course Modern therapeutic concepts such as immunosuppressive therapy and bromocriptin administration are discussed, as well as non-pharmacological approaches. The potentially severe course of the disease requires hospitalization with the possibility of comprehensive heart failure treatment, including non-pharmacological approaches such as device therapy and heart transplantation
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