Key result
A 33-year-old pregnant woman presenting with breathlessness and cardiac arrest was diagnosed with peripartum cardiomyopathy, highlighting the diagnostic utility of B-type natriuretic peptide.
Case Report (n=1)
This case highlights peripartum cardiomyopathy as a potentially fatal cause of breathlessness during pregnancy and emphasizes the role of B-type natriuretic peptide in the differential diagnosis.
Warrants caution against practice change from one case; leaves open prospective validation of BNP in peripartum cardiomyopathy.
We present the case of a 33-year-old woman in her second pregnancy who was transferred to our unit following a one-month history of worsening fatigue and a three-day history of worsening symptoms of heart failure. Shortly after presentation she developed ventricular fibrillation and arrested. At an emergency caesarean section a placental abruption was noted and the baby was stillborn, unable to be resuscitated. The patient required a prolonged intensive and coronary care stay. Echocardiographic findings were consistent with dilated cardiomyopathy and as all investigations to ascertain a cause were negative she was diagnosed with peripartum cardiomyopathy. Her case highlights a potential fatal cause of breathlessness during pregnancy and the role of B-type natriuretic peptide to assist in the differential diagnosis of these cases.
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Snow et al. (2012) conducted a case report in Peripartum cardiomyopathy (n=1). A 33-year-old pregnant woman presenting with breathlessness and cardiac arrest was diagnosed with peripartum cardiomyopathy, highlighting the diagnostic utility of B-type natriuretic peptide.
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