YUSUF YILDIRIM, ŞİVEKAR TINAR, SEFA KURT
Gynecology Obstetrics & Reproductive Medicine - 2004;10(2):135-137
Peripartum cardiomyopathy (PPC) is defined as the onset of acute heart failure without demonstrable cause in the last trimester of pregnancy or within the first 6 months after delivery. It occurs in ranges from 1 in 1300 to 1 in 15000 pregnancies and clinically shows similar features as idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy. We hereby going to describe a previously asymptomatic patient who presented with pulmonary edema at emergency cesarean section and subsequently developed acute heart failure. Echocardiography demonstrated left ventricular systolic dysfunction with an ejection fraction of 20%. The patient stayed in intensive care unit (ICU) for 6 days after initial presentation and was treated with digoxin and furosemide for three weeks following the operation. Based on clinical presentation and echocardiographic findings, we believe that PPC was the cause of the acute pulmonary edema in this patient.
