Myocarditis of Obscure Etiology Associated with Pregnancy

WITHIN the broad but intriguing classification of "heart disease of unknown etiology" can be listed the series of cases presented as "post-partum myocarditis or myocardosis." Virchow, as noted by Gouley, McMillan and Bellet,1 described the presence of myocardial degeneration in deaths during pregnancy. Blacker2 and Campbell3 also mentioned this type of change in the hearts of post-partum females. It was not until the descriptions of Gouley et al.1 and Hull and Hafkesbring4 that the pathology and uniform clinical picture were pointed out in detail. However, one continues to question both the etiology and the legitimacy of designating this combination of . . .