Peripartum Cardiomyopathy

Abstract

The normal course of pregnancy, childbirth or postpartum, may occasionally be affected by the occurrence of heart failure. Most of the time the origin of this syndrome is the presence of previous cardiovascular disease (known or not), and iatrogenic. The objective of this paper is presenting an updated revision of the concept, its epidemiology, physiopathologic mechanisms and peripartum strategies of treatment of the cardiomyopathy. This entity is characterized by a syndrome of heart failure for systolic ventricular dysfunction related with pregnancy. Frequently it appears in peripartum. The specialist in obstetrics, or other personnel attending to the pregnant or puerperal women, is who often notices of the manifestations of this entity. Although the etiology of this disease is unknown, there are new theories involving genetic predisposition, and complex relationship with the pituitary, placenta, cardiomyocytes and endothelial cells, and generate improvements in this specific disease management.