Vanishing left ventricular thrombus in a woman with peripartum cardiomyopathy: a case report

Abstract

Background Peripartum cardiomyopathy (PPCM) is a rare cardiac disorder characterized by the development of heart failure in the last month of pregnancy or up to 5 months postpartum in women without other identifiable causes of cardiac failure. The combination of left ventricular (LV) systolic dysfunction and hypercoaguability can cause thromboembolic complications including intra-cardiac thrombi. Case presentation A 25-year-old Caucasian female with PPCM demonstrated multiple thrombi in the LV on transthoracic echocardiography. Following anticoagulation with parenteral heparin, a cardiac MRI four days later demonstrated near resolution of the thrombi. Conclusion We review the presentation, diagnosis and management of LV thrombi in the clinical setting of PPCM.

Keywords

• Peripartum cardiomyopathy
• Multimodality cardiac imaging
• Thrombus