Peripartum Cardiomyopathy in South Indian Women—Challenges and Outcomes

Introduction Peripartum cardiomyopathy (PPCM) continues to be a therapeutic challenge. Actual incidence is not exactly known as routine screening by echocardiogram is not recommended for all pregnant women across various parts of the world. Aim We, in our study, report the incidence, clinical profile, and prognosis of peripartum cardiomyopathy among South Indian women in a tertiary care hospital. Materials and Methods All pregnant ladies, referred for cardiac evaluation in the last month of pregnancy and 5 months postpartum, were included in this study. Transthoracic ehocardiography was used for the diagnosis of PPCM. The patients who were diagnosed with PPCM were followed-up clinically and echocardiographically for 1, 3, 6 months and 1 year. Results Among 5,475 of pregnant women who were screened with transthoracic echocardiogram, 14 patients were diagnosed with PPCM (0.26%). All 14 PPCM patients presented with New York Heart Association (NYHA) class III or IV. The incidence of PPCM was high in primigravida in our subgroup. The thrombus burden was high, constituting 42.86% in our subgroup and mortality occurred in three patients. Conclusion The incidence of PPCM was 0.25% in our subgroup, with high–thrombus burden. Hence, early diagnosis and proper anticoagulation is the need of the hour among appropriate patients along the heart failure management.