Could it have been better? A patient with peripartum cardiomyopathy treated with conventional therapy

Abstract

Introduction. Peripartum cardiomyopathy is a life threatening condition of unknown cause that occurs in previously healthy women. It is characterized by symptoms of heart failure due to left ventricular dysfunction that occurs in the last month of pregnancy or the first five months after delivery. Case report. We presented woman who underwent caesarean section due to preeclampsia. Two weeks after delivery first signs of heart failure appeared and only after six weeks following the onset of symptoms peripartal cardiomyopathy was recognized. A conventional treatment with diuretics, ACE inhibitor and beta blocker along with anticoagulant therapy was applied, which resulted in a complete recovery of the left ventricular function four months after. Conclusion. Timely detection and initiation of treatment are an important precondition for the complete or partial recovery.

Keywords

• pregnancy complications, cardiovascular
• cardiomypathies
• diagnosis
• drug therapy
• treatment outcome