JACC: Basic to Translational Science (Jun 2019)

Breastfeeding, Cellular Immune Activation, and Myocardial Recovery in Peripartum Cardiomyopathy

  • Agnes Koczo, MD,
  • Amy Marino, MD,
  • Arun Jeyabalan, MD,
  • Uri Elkayam, MD,
  • Leslie T. Cooper, MD,
  • James Fett, MD, MPH,
  • Joan Briller, MD,
  • Eileen Hsich, MD,
  • Lori Blauwet, MD,
  • Charles McTiernan, PhD,
  • Penelope A. Morel, MD,
  • Karen Hanley-Yanez, BS,
  • Dennis M. McNamara, MD, MS,
  • Dennis M McNamara, MD,
  • James D. Fett, MD,
  • Jessica Pisarcik, RN, BSN,
  • Charles McTiernan, PhD,
  • Karen Hanley-Yanez, BS,
  • John Gorcsan, III, MD,
  • Erik Schelbert, MD,
  • Rami Alharethi, MD,
  • Kismet Rasmusson, CRNP,
  • Kim Brunisholz,
  • Amy Butler, BS, CCRP,
  • Deborah Budge,
  • A.G. Kfoury, MD,
  • Benjamin Horne, PhD,
  • Joe Tuinei,
  • Heather Brown,
  • Julie Damp, MD,
  • Allen J. Naftilan, MD,
  • Jill Russell, RN, MSN,
  • Darla Freehardt, LPN, BS, CCRP,
  • Eileen Hsich, MD,
  • Cynthia Oblak, CCRC,
  • Greg Ewald, MD,
  • Donna Whitehead, RN,
  • Jean Flanagan, RN,
  • Anne Platts,
  • Uri Elkayam, MD,
  • Jorge Caro, MPH,
  • Stephanie Mullin, RN,
  • Michael M. Givertz, MD,
  • M. Susan Anello, RN, BS,
  • Navin Rajagopalan, MD,
  • David Booth, MD,
  • Tiffany Sandlin, RN,
  • Wendy Wijesiri, RN,
  • Leslie T. Cooper, MD,
  • Lori A. Blauwet, MD,
  • Joann Brunner, RN,
  • Mary Phelps,
  • Ruth Kempf,
  • Kalgi Modi, MD,
  • Tracy Norwood,
  • Joan Briller, MD,
  • Decebal Sorin Griza, MD,
  • G. Michael Felker, MD,
  • Robb Kociol, MD,
  • Patricia Adams, RN,
  • Gretchen Wells, MD,
  • Vinay Thohan, MD,
  • Deborah Wesley-Farrington, RN, BSN, CCRC, CCA,
  • Sandra Soots, RN, CCRC,
  • Richard Sheppard, MD,
  • Caroline Michel, MD,
  • Nathalie Lapointe, RN, PhD,
  • Heather Nathaniel,
  • Angela Kealey, MD,
  • Marc Semigran, MD,
  • Maureen Daher, RN,
  • John Boehmer, MD,
  • David Silber, MD,
  • Eric Popjes, MD,
  • Patricia Frey, RN,
  • Todd Nicklas, RN,
  • Jeffrey Alexis, MD,
  • Lori Caufield, RN, BSN, CCRC,
  • John W. Thornton, III, MD,
  • Mindy Gentry, MD,
  • Vincent J.B. Robinson, MBBS,
  • Gyanendra K. Sharma, MD,
  • Joan Holloway, BS,
  • Maria Powell, LPN, CCRC,
  • David Markham, MD,
  • Mark Drazner, MD,
  • Lynn Fernandez, RN,
  • Mark Zucker, MD,
  • David A. Baran, MD,
  • Martin L. Gimovsky, MD,
  • Natalia Hochbaum, MD,
  • Bharati Patel, RN, CCRC,
  • Laura Adams, RN, BSN,
  • Gautam Ramani, MD,
  • Stephen Gottlieb, MD,
  • Shawn Robinson, MD,
  • Stacy Fisher, MD,
  • Joanne Marshall, BSN, MS,
  • Jennifer Haythe, MD,
  • Donna Mancini, MD,
  • Rachel Bijou, MD,
  • Maryjane Farr, MD,
  • Marybeth Marks,
  • Henry Arango,
  • Biykem Bozkurt, MD, PhD, FACC, FAHA,
  • Mariana Bolos,
  • Paul Mather, MD,
  • Sharon Rubin, MD,
  • Raphael Bonita, MD,
  • Susan Eberwine, RN,
  • Hal Skopicki, MD, PhD,
  • Kathleen Stergiopoulos, MD,
  • Ellen McCathy-Santoro, MD,
  • Jennifer Intravaia, RN, CCRCII,
  • Elizabeth Maas,
  • Jordan Safirstein, MD,
  • Audrey Kleet, RN, MS, ACNP-BC, CCRN, CCTC,
  • Nancy Martinez, RN,
  • Christine Corpoin, RN,
  • Donna Hesari, RN,
  • Sandra Chaparro, MD,
  • Laura J. Hudson, MA, MPH, CCRC,
  • Jalal K. Ghali, MD,
  • Zora Injic, RN, BSc, MSA,
  • Ilan S. Wittstein, MD

Journal volume & issue
Vol. 4, no. 3
pp. 291 – 300

Abstract

Read online

Summary: The etiology of peripartum cardiomyopathy remains unknown. One hypothesis is that an increase in the 16-kDa form of prolactin is pathogenic and suggests that breastfeeding may worsen peripartum cardiomyopathy by increasing prolactin, while bromocriptine, which blocks prolactin release, may be therapeutic. An autoimmune etiology has also been proposed. The authors investigated the impact of breastfeeding on cellular immunity and myocardial recovery for women with peripartum cardiomyopathy in the IPAC (Investigations in Pregnancy Associated Cardiomyopathy) study. Women who breastfed had elevated prolactin, and prolactin levels correlated with elevations in CD8+ T cells. However, despite elevated prolactin and cytotoxic T cell subsets, myocardial recovery was not impaired in breastfeeding women. Key Words: breastfeeding, immune activation, peripartum cardiomyopathy