Open AccessChallenges in the diagnosis of peripartum cardiomyopathy: a case series
Author(s) -
Fabio Chirillo,
Anna Baritussio,
Umberto Cucchini,
Ermanno Toniolli,
Angela Polo,
Antonio Iavernaro
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
european heart journal. case reports
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.256
H-Index - 5
ISSN - 2514-2119
DOI - 10.1093/ehjcr/ytab001
Subject(s) - peripartum cardiomyopathy , medicine , cardiology , heart failure , myocardial infarction , cardiomyopathy , magnetic resonance imaging , aneurysm , radiology
Background Peripartum cardiomyopathy (PPCM) is usually characterized by overt heart failure, but other clinical scenarios are possible, sometimes making the diagnosis challenging. Case summary We report a case series of four patients with PPCM. The first patient presented with acute heart failure due to left ventricular (LV) systolic dysfunction. Following medical treatment, LV function recovered completely at 1 month. The second patient had systemic and pulmonary thromboembolism, secondary to severe biventricular dysfunction with biventricular thrombi. The third patient presented with myocardial infarction with non-obstructed coronary arteries and evidence of an aneurysm of the mid-anterolateral LV wall. The fourth patient, diagnosed with PPCM 11 years earlier, presented with sustained ventricular tachycardia. A repeat cardiac magnetic resonance, compared to the previous one performed 11 years earlier, showed an enlarged LV aneurysm in the mid-LV anterolateral wall with worsened global LV function. Discussion Peripartum cardiomyopathy may have different clinical presentations. Attentive clinical evaluation and multimodality imaging can provide precise diagnostic and prognostic information.